The Egyptian King
by ZombieQueen22
Summary: Prince Atem was born to inherit the throne of Egypt, the powerful empire his father ruled. He had it all. Little did he know, that a great evil was threatening to take everything he holds dear away. When a tragedy occurs, stripping him of what he cares the most, he runs away to forget about his past... but can the past ever truly be forgotten? Lion King based Vaseshipping
1. Chapter 1: Birth of the New Prince

**Hello everyone. This is going to be my very first fanfic. This is going to be a Lion King based Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic. After so many years, I just got back into my childhood anime and started rewatching the whole series. I am currently on the 5** **th** **season of** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh**_ **and I couldn't help, but notice how Pharaoh Atem's story was so much like that of Simba's. Even most of his Egyptian friends and family seem to fit very specific roles of characters within the Lion King. So I couldn't help, but create a fanfic , based off two of my favorite animations that made my childhood the best. Just letting you guys know, I thought this through carefully and how I'm going to construct my story and who will be playing who. If you watched both** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh**_ **(Season 5 in particular) and the Lion King, then some of these roles should be obvious. Regardless I'm still going to list most characters on who will be playing who.**

 **While the idea came out of just recently re-watching the Lion King and Yu-Gi-Oh at the same time, the inspiration of actually creating this story was thanks to Valkyrie Elysia's** _ **The Mummy Reborn.**_ **My god, that was such an amazing fanfic. Great story plot, full of adventure, character development, action, some romance here and there, comedy, plot twists, etc. It is one of the best fanfics I have ever read in fanfiction. A great combination between** _ **The Mummy**_ **(one of my all-time favorite childhood adventure movies, including its sequel) and** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh**_ **. And for that, I am thankful, so I recommend reading that story, if you haven't already done so. So I'm going to list most of the character roles now, and just to let you know, while this fanfic is mainly Lion King based, it's gonna have some details added from** _ **Yu-Gi-Oh Season 5,**_ **as well as adding my own twists. Here we go.**

 **CAST:**

 **Aknamkanon** **as** **Mufasa**

 **Aknadin** **as** **Scar**

 **Atem** **as** **Simba**

 **Shimon** **as** **Rafiki**

 **Young Shadi** **as** **Zazu** (Only for the first 2 chapters, then he's going to play a much more serious role.)

 **Mahad** **as** **Zazu** (Rest of the story. Yes Mahad fits Zazu well, since he's the one who watches after Atem & Mana, and put up with their shenanigans. But here's the thing. Mahad is around 4-years older than Atem in the series, therefore he would be too young to play the role of Zazu at the time of Atem's birth and I REALLY didn't want to change his age, because they grew up together as kids and I want to maintain that bond within this story.)

 **Mana** **as** **Nala** (Vaseshipping! They really make a cute couple. Also, she fits the role perfectly. I mean they grew up together and they deeply care for one another.)

 **Bakura** **as** **Shenzi** (Yes I know Shenzi's a girl, but Shenzi is technically the leader of all the hyenas, so I honestly think that Bakura would be best to fit her role. Plus, there aren't really any evil female characters in Yugioh as far as I know)

 **Rex & Weevil ****as** **Banzai & Ed**(Honestly, I could not find any better characters to play Banzai & Ed than these two idiots! lol)

 **Bobassa** **as** **Pumbaa** (I honestly thought he would fit the role better than Tristan, since he's more like the character)

 **Jo & Honda** **as** **Timon** (Joey & Tristan. I thought it would be better if they shared the role of Timon.)

 **Nefertiti** **as** **Sarabi** (My OC of Atem's mother)

 **OTHER CHARACTERS:**

 **Teana** (Tea's Egyptian counterpart)

 **Yugi**

 **Isis**

 **Priest Seto**

 **Shada**

 **Karim**

 **There will a few more characters coming into the story, however for plot twists and revelations, I'm not gonna put them here. I'm also not gonna reveal pairings that aren't already obvious for that same reason. All I'm gonna say is that there will be no yaoi or yuri shippings in the fanfic. You're just gonna have read to find out…**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, The Lion King, or any of the characters. Full rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures. Only the OCs are mine…**

* * *

Chapter 1: Birth of the New Prince of Egypt

Pharaoh Aknamkanon looked out from the balcony of his palace and out into the city. It was very early in the morning, though the sun had not risen yet. However, he could clearly see out from the distance that his people were beginning to leave their homes and head towards the palace. It seems that Shadi kept his word in sending the magnificent news to the people of Egypt.

Screams could be heard from inside the palace. It made him only more nervous than he already was, though no one would imagine this, since the pharaoh always kept calm and vacant expression. He hadn't been this nervous since he assumed the throne so many years ago.

At first, he didn't believe he could continue his father legacy's as king of Egypt. But soon after, he managed to grow accustom to the responsibilities that came as pharaoh, being able to appeal to the petitions and needs of his people. It had been a new chapter that changed his life forever.

Now today, it was the beginning of yet another new chapter of his life. Today would be the birth of his first born child. A child born from him and the love of his life, Queen Nefertiti. The new crowned prince of Egypt.

The pharaoh soon noticed that the sky was getting bluer by the minute, a sign that dawn was present and the sun would soon rise over Egypt. The citizens were getting closer towards the palace as Aknamkanon at the same time, heard his wife give out a final cry. There was a few seconds of silence before the wail of a newborn baby broke through the short silence.

The pharaoh smiled, happiness spreading all over his being. His son, the new prince of Egypt was finally born! He was a father now.

The rays of the sun were beginning to peak out and brighten through the night of the city. The citizens soon began to gather in front of the palace as the pharaoh looked down at them from the balcony. More and more kept coming, soon forming a huge crowed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a horseman coming towards his palace. As Aknamkanon looked closer, he immediately recognized the horseman. The person appeared to be a 13-year-old boy, dressed in white robes, a turban, and a golden key tied around his neck.

 _Shadi has finally returned._

As he saw Shadi get off his horse and enter the palace, one of the midwives that were assisting his wife through the child-bearing had immerged from inside the palace and stood across the king. She kneeled and bowed in respect of the great pharaoh.

"My pharaoh, I would like to inform you that the Queen has given birth to a son. A strong and healthy boy."

Aknamkanon finally turned towards his servant, a spark could be seen within his eyes. "Magnificent news. How is my wife?"

"She is in perfect health, sire. With just a few more minutes of rest, she will be well enough to attend the presentation of the new prince. However, I recommend she be put to bed rest for the rest of the day, as soon the ceremony is over, so she can recover back to her full strength."

The pharaoh looked spectacle for a moment, before smiling. "Thank you, Tamun. Before you go back to assist the Queen, tell Shimon that the time has come to start the ceremony."

"Yes my king." The midwife retreated back into the room.

Aknamkanon was relieved and satisfied with the news. Despite being overjoyed with arrival of his new son, he had been worried that his wife would be too weak to attend the presentation of their son as the new prince. Since the beginning, of when Queen Nefertiti found out that she was with child, she had made the decision that no matter what, nothing would stop her from seeing her child be crowned as the new prince or princess of Egypt. And now she can finally fulfill her dream.

He broke out of his thoughts as he sensed that someone else had joined him in seeing the crowd of civilians gathered up in order meet the new prince.

He looked down and realized that Shadi was right next to him looking up at him. The boy stared for a moment up at the great king, before smiling and bowing in respect. Aknamkanon couldn't help but smile at Shadi. It was then when both realized that someone else had joined them.

Both turned around to see who had decided to join them. It was an old man, dressed in noble Egyptian clothing, along with a purple, long hat, a golden eye decorated on it. He had a cloth covering his, so his face couldn't be seen, with the exception of his big purple eyes and grey, spiky hair popping out on the back.

The old man bowed before the pharaoh. "Your Excellency, I am ready for the ceremony to begin and present Egypt their new prince." Aknamkanon smiled before they both embraced into a manly hug, with the pharaoh patting the old man's back.

"Shimon, my most trusted advisor and my most loyal friend. It is an honor to have you here in this happy day and more importantly that you'll be the one to present my son as the new crowned prince. Come now, we must start the ceremony for my son."

Both men separated as they entered the room, leaving Shadi to look after the people of Egypt, who waited patiently for the presentation of their new prince.

As they entered, Aknamkanon first caught sight of his queen laid on the bed. Her beautiful, long black hair, tainted by blood-red highlights, which had been previously messy and covered in sweet, was now perfectly combed and tied into a loose braid, which ran on her back. Her beautiful red-ruby eyes glistened with love and admiration, as she looked at the small bundle in her arms. He also noticed that one of the straps of her dress was pulled down at the side of her arm, along with part of her dress, as the bundle was placed on her revealed chest area. It didn't take long for both men to realize that the queen was breast-feeding her child.

As the pharaoh finally managed to fully comprehend at the sight before him, he felt his heart warm up at the sight. Both he and Shimon then looked at each other in approval at how beautiful the scene before them was. They soon walked closer towards the bed. It was at this moment that Nefertiti noticed the presence of the two men in the room. She smiled brightly as they got closer to finally meet the child.

Nefertiti removed the child from her breast and pulled the strap on from her dress back in its place. She then proceeded to use a cloth to clean the baby's mouth gently, before putting the bundle in her arms into a more comfortable position. By then, the pharaoh and his advisor were right next to her. Aknamkanon then moved in to give his wife a quick kiss, which she responded to, before they both broke apart and looked down at their baby. Shimon was also able to get a good look at the new born prince.

The baby had the typical Egyptian tanned skin. His curly, yellow bangs were seen on the sides of his forehead. Most of his other hair was black, with the exception of the small spiky parts that were growing out and upward at the back of his head, contained red highlights at the end of his spiky black hair. The child then proceeded to open his eyes, only to reveal beautiful bright-purple eyes that resembled shining gems.

Nefertiti smiled before looking at Shimon. "Uncle, will you do the honors?" Shimon smiled before he took out from his robes a small jar, which seemed to contain some brown potion he made out of herbs. Shimon then proceeded to take some onto his fingers, before putting a line across the baby's forehead.

The baby looked with curiosity at his great-uncle, as Shimon took yet, another small jar, except this time it contained sand, which he gained from sacred ground that was blessed by the gods. He poured sprinkles of it on the symbol of the prince's forehead. Some of it however landed on the baby's nose and caused him to let out a cute sneeze.

Both the pharaoh and his queen smiled in adoration, as they nuzzled their heads together. It was then Shimon extended his arms so that he could take the child outside to present him officially as the crowned prince of Egypt. Nefertiti smiled before handing her baby to Shimon. The elderly man carefully held the baby in his arms as he headed outside into the balcony. Aknamkanon stayed behind for a moment to help his wife out of bed and help her walk slowly.

Shadi waited patiently as Shimon emerged with the young prince cuddled in his arms. Shimon kept walking towards the balcony end, until he was in front of the entire crowd, waiting to see their prince. Shimon stood there for a few moments as he waited for his king and queen to arrive.

Not long after, the pharaoh came out of the room, holding his wife by her waist, guiding her steps. As they carefully made towards the front, they finally saw the massive crowd, who broke into cheers the minute they saw the king and queen of Egypt. Aknamkanon smiled proudly at the crowd, before he raised his hand, as sign of silence so that he may speak. The crowd quickly acted on the pharaoh's action, and then their cheers died down until there was complete silence. Few seconds past before the king began his speech.

"People of Egypt, it is quite an honor to have all of you join me on this glorious day. For many years now, I have ruled with power, just and maintained peace over this land. I am very glad to have proven myself a worthy pharaoh for all of you after all these years. And today, the gods have blessed us with a new heir. One who will continue my legacy, and every pharaoh that came before me, when I pass onto the next world. The future pharaoh, my son…."

Shimon then proceeded to move the baby into his hands raised him high up in the air so that the crowd may see the child clearly.

"The heir to my throne. People of Egypt I present to you the new crowned prince, Atem!"

The crowd immediately broke into even louder cheering; some even began chanting "Prince Atem", as a way to welcome the new prince of Egypt. Little Atem looked really confused at overjoyed crowd, before smiling out of entertainment.

Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Queen Nefertiti smiled at one another as they witnessed everyone cheering and celebrating for the arrival of their new prince. Even all the servants from the palace and the other scared guardians, along with their children, were among the crowd cheering. All except one.

The pharaoh couldn't help but sigh in disappointment, knowing full well who was missing from his group of sacred guardians. He then felt his wife's warm hand on his, causing him to turn to her. She gave him a reassuring smile, which meant everything would turn out alright and to not think about it now.

He smiled, realizing she was right and he could deal with the problem later. Right now was a time to be happy and celebrate the arrival of Prince Atem.

* * *

 **Welp that's it for my first chapter. Oh, yeah I made Shimon into Atem's great-uncle. I mean come on. If you look at Yugi's grandpa, when he was young, he literally looked like an adult Yugi. So it makes sense that he's Yugi's grandpa, since that's where Yugi gets his rare and unusual looks. And both Shimon and Atem, being their Egyptian incarnations, yet they aren't related to each other, despite the resemblance? Yeah I can't really buy that, at least not for my story. I feel like they needed to be related to each other somehow.**

 **Anyways, let me know what you guys thought?**


	2. Chapter 2: Greed and Jealousy

**Hey guys! It's me again. Here we go, another new chapter.**

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Chapter 2: Greed and Jealousy

As the day went by and was soon heading into the evening, the celebration of the new crowned prince of Egypt had finally begun to die down. It had been a long day for most people of the palace, especially for the pharaoh and his sacred guardians. Some of the guests had been civilians that resided in the city of Cairo. Others had been noble families from different cities of Egypt and some even from different countries, who had traveled far to the city of Cairo, and welcome the new prince.

Many extraordinary and expensive gifts had been brought to the palace in honor of the pharaoh and the birth of Prince Atem. Queen Nefertiti had been put to bed rest as recommended by Tamun, being satisfied to have been able to participate in the ceremony of her son. She then had left her son in care of her uncle Shimon, the man who had taken care of her since she was a child. Some guests who were curious to see the new prince of Egypt would approach Shimon, who stood by the pharaoh's throne, and ask if they could get a quick look at the heir the Pharaoh Aknamkanon's throne.

Meanwhile, Pharaoh Aknamkanon had received the gifts in gratitude as he had sat on his throne for most of the day as the guests and even his sacred guardians seemed to enjoy themselves in chatting and having a great time, while their children ran around, playing with each other. It had been a happy day for everyone, everyone except one person in particular…

()()()()()()

Aknadin sat on the edge of a pond that stood in the middle of the huge garden inside the palace. He was throwing pebbles in the pond, watching as they bounced a couple of times, until they finally sank into the water. He gave out an exasperated sign of boredom as he watched downwards at the front gate where guests were finally leaving the palace, while rubbing his golden, left eye.

Aknadin happened to be one of the pharaoh's sacred guardians and the keeper of the one of the Seven Millennium Items, the Millennium Eye. He had been the only one who had not attended the ceremony and presentation of the new prince, or even the festival that came afterwards.

Anyone would think and even expect that he would be the first person there by the pharaoh's side at the arrival of Prince Atem, not only for being a sacred guardian, but also because he was Aknamkanon's younger brother, the only other blood family he has.

Little did they know, that Aknadin secretly was always jealous and envious of his brother for having been selected by their father to be pharaoh instead of him. Since they were children, Aknamkanon had always been their father's preferred, always investing most of his time and attention for his older brother, preparing him to become pharaoh. Though he soon realized afterwards, that he was still next in line for the throne, and secretly hope that if a tragic accident were to take his brother, the crown would be his.

But now with the birth of Prince Atem, the official heir to the royal throne, all his plans and hopes were shot down a tube. He now despised his brother even more for having that wretched child, whose arrival came to ruin everything for him.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a frog on a lily pad. He sighed as he had found something to take out his frustration on. As the frog was about to jump into the water, Aknadin quickly snatched it quickly in mid air and held by the leg, while to frog struggled to break free. He examined the frog with boredom.

"Life certainly isn't fair is it?" He talked to the frog as if it could understand him. "It seems that in end, I will never be king."

He then smiled wickedly as the frog was still struggling. "But then, you will never see the light of another day, will you?"

With his other free hand, he used his magic to light up a flame at the tip of his index finger. He neared it to the frog, and just when he was about to burn it alive, a youthful yet commanding voice interrupted him.

"Don't you think you're a little too old to be committing such childish acts?"

He turned around and saw Shadi, the youngest sacred guardian in history and holder of the Millennium Key. Right next to him was a small boy who looked no older than 4 years old, with honey-brown, shoulder-length hair. He immediately recognized the boy as Mahad, son of one of his fellow sacred guardian and next in line to inherit the Millennium Ring. Aknadin groaned in annoyance.

"What do you brats want?"

Shadi raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Is that any way to treat one of your colleagues? I just came here to inform you that Pharaoh Aknamkanon is on his way here. So I suggest you have a good explanation for missing the ceremony this morning."

Aknadin rolled his only real eye, but before he could retort, the frog he had in his hand, which he had temporarily forgotten, had finally slipped through his finger-grasp and jump back into the pond, swimming away.

He sighed in annoyance as he turned back to the boys.

"Oh look Shadi, you made me lose my only entertainment of the day." Shadi scoffed at that.

"You'll lose more than that when the pharaoh gets through with you. He's as livid as the gods themselves.

At this moment, little Mahad decided to join the conversation and support Shadi, finding this too entertaining. "Yeah! You just watch when Pharaoh comes!"

Aknadin slightly annoyed, then smirked evilly at the boys as he walked towards them predatorily.

"Oooo, I quiver with fear!" He said mockingly, yet sadistically. Mahad frightened at how the man was staring and approaching them, began to back up slowly behind Shadi. Shadi however, stood his ground.

But before any of the boys could realize what was happening, Aknadin pointed his finger at Mahad, and then raised it, levitating Mahad by an invisible force in high mid air. The little boy yelled in fear, then began to sob as he looked down at how high up he was.

Shadi was horrified at Aknadin's action. This man was definitely a despicable being, willing to go as far as to torment little children for his own entertainment. It made Shadi even wonder how in the world did this man managed to become a sacred guardian.

"Aknadin release Mahad this instant! Can't you see he's only a child and you're frightening him?" Shadi exclaimed in anger. Aknadin only chuckled and mocked him once more.

"Or what, you'll tell his daddy on me?" This made Shadi angrier and readied himself to counter Aknadin's spell. However, before he even had the chance to start the chant, a new deep, powerful voice broke through the conversation.

"Aknadin, drop him."

They all turned to see that it was Pharaoh Aknamkanon, who had just arrived at the scene. His expression clearly showed that he was beyond furious at the sight before him. Shadi, however, smiled at the king's arrival.

"Impeccable timing, your majesty."

Aknadin annoyed at his fun being ruined, reluctantly released Mahad from his spell, causing him to fall on Shadi. Shadi had tried to catch him, but the impact made him lose his balance, causing both boys to fall on the grass. Satisfied that Mahad was out of harm's way, the pharaoh then walked towards Aknadin, completely angered at how his younger brother was acting today.

"Well if it isn't my big brother, descending from high to mingle with the commoners," Aknadin commented sarcastically.

The king pushed his comment aside as he wanted to get the point of the problem. "Nefertiti and I didn't see you at the presentation of Atem this morning."

Aknadin sarcastically pretended to act surprised at this as he gave his "reasoning" as to why he didn't attend to ceremony of his new nephew. "That was today? Oh I feel simply awful!"

He stretched his arms in such fake anguish, though the pharaoh could clearly see right through him.

"Must have slipped my mind." He finished.

Shadi then decided to intervene in the conversation as he stood by the king. "Yes well as slippery as your mind may be, as the king's brother, you should have been first in line!"

Little Mahad, who had recovered from the trauma of being levitated, couldn't help, but once again support Shadi. "Yeah!"

Aknadin raised his eyebrow in amusement as he smiled wickedly and raised his finger once more towards Mahad. The child, realizing what he was trying to do, gasped in fear and hid behind Shadi. The older boy grabbed onto the smaller child behind him, then shielding him completely from Aknadin's view. He stood his ground, ready this time to protect Mahad.

The keeper of the Millennium Eye snorted in amusement, satisfied with the reaction he got from little Mahad. His attention was now on Shadi, remembering his previous statement. He then neared to his height level.

"I was first in line, until that little tri-colored, spiky-haired brat was born," he growled lowly.

Before Shadi could retort, Aknamkanon intervened, pushing both boys behind him with his arm, not amused with the comment his brother just made.

"That TRI-COLORED SPIKY-HAIRED BRAT, as you call him, is my son, and your future king." His statement was bold, direct, and held a powerful force, as if making it clear to his brother what Prince Atem's place was in this kingdom and that he will be respected.

Aknadin smiled mockingly as he turned away from his brother. But not before making, yet another smart-ass comment. "Oh I shall practice my curtsy." As he walked away from his brother, Aknamkanon was angered at the way he saw his brother walk away from the situation.

"Don't turn your back on me Aknadin!" He warned dangerously. Aknadin, however, took no heed in his brother's warning. He turned his head slightly to glance at the pharaoh.

"Oh no Aknamkanon, perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me." Though the reply was low and simply meant to retort, the reaction he got from his brother completely took him by surprise.

At that last comment his brother made, the pharaoh finally snapped. He angrily walked at a faster pace than his brother, but as soon as he caught up to him, he turned to stand in front of Aknadin, face to face. He then angrily grabbed his younger brother by the collar of his robe and pulled him to look at him dead in the eye.

"IS THAT A CHALLENGE?!"

Both Shadi and Mahad gasped and then looked at their pharaoh in complete shock, since they have never seen him this angry before, much less react this way. They watched quietly to see what would happen next.

Aknamkanon's expression showed he was beyond furious. His inflamed eyes stared threateningly at Aknadin's, as if shooting fiery daggers. Aknadin felt fear fill his body for a moment, at seeing his brother this furious, even though he refused to show it in front of him. After calming his inner self down, he simply tapped his brother's hand that gripped his rope, as if persuading him to let him go, while his expression was calm and vacant.

"Temper, temper. Believe me, my dear brother, I wouldn't _dream_ of challenging you." At this the king managed to calm down a little, and loosened his grip, until he completely let go of Aknadin, even though he was still quite angry

Shadi crossed his arms as he smirked. He couldn't help but find his comment amusing. "Pity. Why not?"

"Well as far intelligence goes, I've got the share, but when it comes to brute strength, I'm afraid I'm the shallow end of the lake."

Aknadin walked pass his brother with a supposed "depressed" expression and headed back to his chambers as Aknamkanon and the boys watched.

Once Aknadin was far enough, Shadi sighed as he looked up at the pharaoh. "Well sire, there always has to be that one person in every family that always manages to ruin special occasions."

Aknamkanon didn't look back at Shadi, but continued to stare in disappointment and sadness at the way his brother left. Despite everything, Aknadin was still his younger brother and he was concerned about the dilemma he was going through . "What am I going to do with him?"

'You can always put him up for adoption," Shadi smugly commented, almost forgetting just who he was talking to.

"Shadi," the king playfully scolded. The older boy then looked to see his pharaoh with an amused look on his face, with an eyebrow raise. He then fully realized what he had just said and slapped his forehead.

"Oh no, forgive me your majesty. I shouldn't make such disrespectful statements!" The pharaoh, however, chuckled and patted the boy on the back.

"It's alright Shadi, there is nothing to worry about."

Shadi smiled, relieved that the pharaoh didn't become upset with him. Shadi had always been a trusted friend to him. Ever since he and his younger brother, Shada were brought to the palace, he took it in his responsibility to watch over the two boys, who showed great potential in raw power. That is how Shadi then came to be the youngest sacred guardian in history. And with his wisdom and maturity, is how he came to be one of the pharaoh's most trusted servants and a close friend.

It had definitely been a good idea to convince Nahi, Mahad's father, to let Shadi look after his son, while he was assisting his obligations that came as a sacred guardian of the Millennium Ring. He would be a great influence for little Mahad, so that once he reached of age to start his training, he would be ready.

As the king headed back inside the palace, the pharaoh then got an idea. "Well I will now be heading back to my private chambers. If you two like, you can accompany me for a moment. That way, little Mahad can finally have a chance to meet my son?"

At this, the 4-year-old boy smiled brightly, excitement glistening in his eyes, that he will finally get the chance to meet the new prince. Mahad had wanted to meet him back at the festival, but so many of the guests had hogged the space, fighting over of who deserved to meet Prince Atem first, that he couldn't get anywhere near the baby prince. But now this his chance to finally meet him.

"Do you REALLY mean it Pharaoh?!" Both Aknamkanon and Shadi smiled at the smaller boy's innocence and enthusiasm.

"Of course little one. After all, my son, Atem, is going to need a new friend. You can have the honor of being his very first friend, if you like." At this, Mahad jumped excitedly at the fact that he been given permission to become Prince Atem's very first friend.

The pharaoh and Shadi chuckled at Mahad's reaction as they all headed back inside.

()()()()()()

As it reached nighttime, an unexpected rain fell upon Egypt, which was very rare. Civilians, who were still outside, ran quickly into their homes, to avoid getting wet.

In the outskirts of the city, there was a small, yet clean and well organized looking cabin, made of stone and marble. The person that lived inside was Shimon, He was currently drawing something on one of the creamed walls, that had other drawings of Egyptian symbols. When he was finally done, it revealed to be a doodle of baby Atem.

Shimon looked with such admiration at his drawing of the young prince. He then chuckled, and put the last touch to his drawing, by put a line of paint across the forehead, same way he did with the real Atem.

"Atem. Prince Atem."

* * *

 **Well, finally done with chapter 2. Finally! Now I can finally focus on the main guy. By the way, I kinda felt that I needed to show the friendship between Mahad and Atem originated from. At least for this story.**


	3. Chapter 3: Child's Play

**I finally made it past the introduction part. Thank god! Now we can finally get to the fun parts! Let's do this. This chapter is going to be rather long.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Yu-Gi-OH**_ **or** _ **The Lion King.**_ **All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures**

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Chapter 3: Child's Play

 **10 Years Later…**

As dawn approached, the city of Cairo was still very quiet, as everyone was still inside their homes, trying to catch up on their sleeping. At the royal palace, things were no different. Almost everyone was on their beds, dead asleep. Almost, being the operative word, as there was one youthful and energetic soul, that was wide awake.

Atem, the 10-year-old prince of Egypt, was very much awake. He, at the moment, was looking out at the city, from the balcony that leads to his parents' chambers. Over the years, he had grown into quite a healthy, cute-looking boy, with infinite energy, that sometimes drove his parents crazy. But they were thankful, that their son had grown into a happy child.

His hair had outgrown and spiked out into it all star-shaped glory, with red staining the edged of the black spikes. His golden bangs had straightened out and fell onto the sides of his face, while extra golden strands, were beginning to grow out and stand up with the rest of his hair, making it look like he was wearing a golden crown. His eye shapes had narrowed over the years, making him look more serious, while his purple eyes still stayed beautiful, like shining gems. As an overall, he grew into a good-looking boy that sometimes caused noble girls to swoon over him, even though he was completely oblivious to the fact that they even existed.

The prince looked up at the sky, seeing it become lighter before smiling, and excitedly ran back inside his parents' room, to wake up his father.

"Dad! Dad! We have to go! Come on, wake up!"

As Atem got closer, he realized both were still dead asleep, despite his yelling. This made him slightly mad. He then tugged his father's robes.

"Dad, dad!" He nagged, annoyed that his father was still not listening. He then continued to nag.

"Dad, dad, dad, dad….."

Meanwhile, Nefertiti was somewhat awake, but did not open her eyes. "Your son's awake." She tiredly said, smiling. Aknamkanon tiredly groaned, who also still had his eye closed.

"Before the sunrise, he's your son."

Atem, getting tired of nagging the sleeping pharaoh, finally snapped. "DAD! Dad, come on dad!"

He pulled on the headdress that his father wore, trying to get him out of bed. The headdress, however slid off into Atem's hands, as he was pushed backwards by his own force and fell on the floor. Angered at his father's laziness, he jumped off the floor, then ran quickly with a little more force, and bumped towards the pharaoh's shoulder.

"You promised!"

Aknamkanon groaned and slightly opened one of his tired eyes to look at his son. Atem showed an annoyed, and slightly angry, though at the same time, he was pouting. The king couldn't help but find his child's expression adorable. Knowing Atem was going to keep insisting and he did promise his son that today he would show him the kingdom, he finally decided to give in.

"Okay, okay. I'm up! I'm up!"

Atem quickly changed back to his happy, excited, and energetic self, as ran out of the door to the room. "Yeah!"

Aknamkanon stretched his arms and yawned loudly. Nefertiti too, decided to get up as well. The pharaoh picked up his headdress off the floor and placed it back on his head. He then proceeded to catch up with his son, before Atem would start throwing a fit again. As the pharaoh and the prince left to the roof of the palace, Nefertiti stood by the door to her room, and could only watch happily with a tender look in her eyes, and a smile as the two loves of her life went to have some father-son bonding time.

()()()()()()

As the sun finally rose, brightening once again the lands of Egypt, Aknamkanon and Atem stood there watching the sun rise from the top of the palace. Aknamkanon raised his hand to demonstrate to his son everything he needed to see.

"Look Atem, everything the light touches is our kingdom."

Atem looked with amazement and awe. "Wow".

Aknamkanon then continued. "A king's time as ruler, rises and falls as the morning and evening star. One day Atem, the sun will set on my time here. And when I enter the next world, the sun will rise with you as the new king."

Atem looked up at his father with amazement than looked back out onto the kingdom. "And this will all be all be mine?!"

"Everything, my boy." Atem was astonished at the entire kingdom that will one day be his to rule. He then continued to look out at the distance, until he noticed gray, shadowed ruins at the very end of his view of the city. Curious, he asked his father.

"Everything the light touches… What about that shadowy place?"

The pharaoh lost his smile and his expression turned to seriousness. "That is the destroyed village of Kul Elna. It lies beyond our borders. Remember Atem, you must never go there, no matter what."

This made Atem even more curious."But I thought a pharaoh could do whatever he wants?"

Aknamkanon raised an eyebrow and smiled at his son's somewhat cocky attitude. "Oh there is more to being king than getting your way all the time."

"There's more!?" Atem was now even more excited and his father laughed at his son's enthusiasm.

"Oh Atem…" The pharaoh smiled, and then led his son back inside the palace, so they can explore the city.

()()()()()()

Through the city, the pharaoh and the prince were seen riding their horses. Aknamkanon continued to demonstrate everything there was to know about becoming a pharaoh.

"Everything you see exists together, in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance that holds together our kingdom. And respect its entire people, from poorest beggar to the highest of nobles. Because believe it or not, each individual is connected to our kingdom."

They both stopped their tracks as they came to an open field, in the outskirts of the city, where not many crowded people were at. Atem knew where this was at. It was used to take horses to breed and practice horse riding. He and Mahad had been here many times in the past, with their fathers when they were younger.

They heard horse tracks behind them, coming their way. As the horseman came closer, they recognized that is was Mahad. The boy stopped his horse precisely in front of the pharaoh and the prince, before getting off.

"Good morning sire!"

The pharaoh smiled as he and his son also got off their horses. "Good morning Mahad!"

"Checking in with the morning report!"

"Fire away."

Atem smiled at the sight of his best friend here. "Hey Mahad!"

"Good morning, my prince!" Mahad greeted Atem, before returning to reporting to the king. Atem couldn't help, but roll his eyes at the title. He had told Mahad many times to just call him by his name. They are best friends after all. It must be the whole responsibility thing with being the pharaoh's advisor and having to take care of him when neither of his parents are around. At one point, Shadi was the pharaoh's advisor, but since he had grown, his responsibilities as sacred guardian became more constant than when he was a child.

That is when his father turned to Mahad. He knew Mahad had grown into a responsible young man and was has been a very close friend, practically a brother to him since he was born. But since he became the pharaoh's advisor, there were times that he took his job a little too seriously.

As Mahad continued with the report, Atem became rather bored and looked around for something to entertain himself with. He then noticed a small jack-rabbit in the brown grass and smiled. This was a perfect time to practice his archery. Atem went to the bag that hung next to his horse and took out his bow and arrows that were simply meant for practice, which didn't contain the sharp, metal part at the end. He then proceeded to try and aim at the rabbit. But to his bad luck, every time he got near, the rabbit would bounce off and every time Atem would shoot his arrow, he would miss his target.

Just as it seemed the young prince was about to give up, Aknamkanon took notice that his son was entertained with something else. He then got to his height level, and whispered low enough so Mahad wouldn't be able to hear. Mahad was too busy giving out his report that he had no clue what was going on.

"What are you doing my son?" Atem signed exasperated and point to the rabbit that had jumped in a hole and disappeared.

"Archery practice." The pharaoh then looked at Mahad, who was _still_ too engrossed in his speech to notice anything. Aknamkanon smiled as a devious idea came in mind.

"Let a pro show you how it's done." He then proceeded to have Atem bend to one knee and lean even more into the grass, until he was barely visible. The pharaoh then fixed the boy's arms so that he was holding his bow and arrow correctly, until the arrow was aimed directly at Mahad. The prince now realized what his father was up to and smiled.

He always did love to play pranks on Mahad, though normally these ideas mainly came from his other best friend, Mana, who was always the mastermind behind these schemes. "Like this dad?"

The pharaoh smiled proudly and nodded, then looked at Mahad, as he was still speaking, "…and so my father told me that the guards found a boy, around my age, near the Nile, with rather extraordinary power and talent, though I still have my doubts sire. I mean we know nothing about him, except that his name is Se-"

"Mahad would you turn around." The king interrupted Mahad's speech. The boy, unaware of why he was being asked for such a simple task, turned around, now his back facing them as he went back to his speech.

"Yes, sire. Anyhow, it seems by the boy's appearance that he's from one of our nearby villages, though we must do further investigation…"

"Steady son. And stay low to the ground." Aknamkanon guided Atem as the young tri-colored, spiky-haired prince leaned quietly as he aimed towards his target. "Got it."

"Now be prepared to let go, are you ready?" Atem quietly nodded in approval as he pulled back his arrow.

Mahad now becoming aware of the silence, besides the whispers between the king and his son, became suspicious that they up to something mischievous.

"What are you telling him phara-" He began as he almost turned around fully, but was interrupted when a force struck his back, sending him flying until he fell on the ground flat, his face in the grass.

The king began to laugh loudly as Atem smiled. Proud of his success, he ran towards Mahad. As Mahad began to gather himself off the ground into a sitting position, he noticed the young prince was right in front of him, extending his hand, while smiling. "Need a hand?"

Mahad looked spectacle for a moment, before smiling, feeling the prince was being sincere, and grabbed his hand. Atem helped Mahad back up to his feet, as Aknamkanon continued to laugh. Mahad rubbed off the dirt and dust off his robes as he looked at back at Atem.

"What was all that about?"

Atem casually smiled. "Eh, just an archery lesson."

"Oh right an archery lesson, that's- WAIT WHAT!?" Mahad then yelled out as he fully realized the situation. "And you used ME as a TARGET?!"

Atem couldn't help, but laugh at his priceless reaction. It was always fun to press Mahad's buttons until he exploded and try to kill either him or Mana. But he knew deep down that Mahad never took it to heart. It's the way they played around with each other. He then patted Mahad's shoulder, before running back to his father, who was still laughing.

"That's very good!." Atem proudly smiled at his skills being recognized. Mahad was slightly annoyed at the father-son duo, and was about to say something, before he heard a familiar chirping. He looked up at the sky and noticed a hawk in the sky, flying closer to him. _It's my father's hawk, Horus! But why would he send him if I'm already here?_

Horus landed on Mahad's arm, as the boy removed the paper roll tied around the hawk's leg and read the message on it.

Aknamkanon, still unaware of the animal's presence, wrapped his arm around his boy's shoulder, getting ready for another lesson. "Alright Atem, now this time-"

The king was interrupted as Mahad came running towards them, yelling. "Sire! Thieves and bandits are here! In the city!"

The pharaoh's expression hardened with such seriousness, as he ran back to his brown horse, and hopped on it immediately. Before leaving, he turned back to the boys.

"Mahad, take Atem home."

The prince, however, was not pleased and nagged his father. "Ah, dad can I come?"

"No son," Aknamkanon replied sternly before riding off into the distance.

Atem continued to stare, before he gave an angry huff and kicked some rocks out of frustration. "I never get to go anywhere." Mahad smiled at the prince's displeased look and patted his back in consolation as they headed back to their horses.

"Oh don't worry my prince. One day, you'll be pharaoh. Then you can chase those thieving, greedy, stupid bandits from dawn till' dusk." Atem, still not feeling any better, stomped hardly onto the ground as he reluctantly hopped on his white horse, while Mahad followed his lead and hopped on his orange on. He was still disappointed that he hadn't found a way to cheer Atem up.

 _Wait. I know!_ Not only would it put the prince in a better mood, but this was his chance for a little pay back from earlier. Mahad snuck into his bag and searched, until he took out a drinking pouch of water. He smiled mischievously at the young prince, who still down, with an angry expression. He then threw it at the young prince.

Completely unaware of what was coming, the young prince continued to mope in his own misery, until…

SPLASH! The bag exploded and water splashed all over the prince's head, wetting his hair and clothes. Atem was completely taken by surprise that he almost fell off his horse. His alarmed expression was completely visible on his face, as he tried to register what had just happened.

"What the-! What in the world just-"He was interrupted as a laughing erupted into the air. Atem turned around and saw Mahad laughing his butt off. He was shocked as he wondered what Mahad found so funny. After some quick thinking, he managed to put the two together.

"It was you!?" Mahad managed to calm down his laughing as he looked back at Atem's hilarious appearance.

"I'm sorry Prince, but I felt that a little water would cool off that hot head of yours!" He then continued to laugh. Atem felt his eye twitch in irritation, as he felt challenged.

"Oh yeah, well just watch Mahad. I'm gonna get you back for this!"

Mahad once again calmed down his laughing as he smiled at his friend, before getting the reigns of his horse and rode off. "Well, you're just gonna have to catch up to me first, before you can get me! That's if you can keep up?" Mahad then laughed into the distance as he rode off back to the palace.

Atem stared in shock for a few seconds, before an anime tick popped onto his head in anger, but smiled deviously as the heat of competition began to grow within him."Oh yeah, we'll see about that Mahad! I accept your challenge! And I'll show you!"

He then rode off his horse at high speed, catching up to Mahad. Throughout the morning, the laughter of the boys and horse tracks can be heard all over the city.

()()()()()()

Back at the palace, it was the middle of the day. To many, it was just another regular, boring day they had to deal with. Aknadin in particular, was among those people. At the moment, he was in the garden, lying on the grass, relaxing under the shade of a large tree.

Shadi once again, had scolded him for missing the court meeting of the sacred guardians this morning, to discuss the adolescent boy, with strange powers, that had been found near the Nile. He honestly could care less who that boy was. _Most likely just some peasant boy, who was possessed by a dark shadow creature. The others can take care_ of _him. They don't need me for this._

All he wants to do now is relax and be left alone in peace. To his misfortune, that peace would be interrupted in three, two, one…

"Hey Uncle Aknadin, guess what!?"An excited, cheerful voice broke the silence. He opened his eyes, irritated as he recognized that annoying voice all too well. He slowly turned his head to the side and saw the very last person he had wanted to see today. There stood his nephew, Atem, with a huge, excited smile on his face. Aknadin groaned inwardly. _Out of all the people that could have ruined my day, it had to be my unbearable nephew!_

"I despise guessing games," he answered bitterly.

Atem, however, was completely unaware of his uncle's inner dilemma, and so he cockily told him the great news.

"I'm gonna be pharaoh of Egypt!" Aknadin growled inwardly at the fact that his nephew was rubbing it in his face, unintentionally reminding him that he himself will never be pharaoh.

"Oh, goody."

"Yep! My father just showed me the whole kingdom, and I'm gonna rule it all. Hehe!" Aknadin rolled his eyes, annoyed at his nephew's excitement.

"Well, forgive me for not jumping with joy with you." He then laid on his side, his back facing Atem. _Why couldn't this brat just let me be? Something, someone, anything! Just make him go away._

Once again, luck was not on his side as Atem laid on his uncle's arms, hanging on there, while his arms hanged loose. Aknadin groaned in annoyance.

Atem, of course, was completely oblivious as his curiosity ran wild. "Hey Uncle Aknadin, when I'm king, what will that make you?"

"A monkey's uncle." Aknadin answered bitterly. Atem giggled at his answer and rolled off onto the grass, then lying on his front, with his hands holding his head.

"He he. You're so weird."

"You have no idea." Aknadin then proceeded to get up and walk towards the edge of the palace, where the view of the city could be seen. Knowing this child was not going way on his own terms, he decided to make some small talk with his nephew; to find out what exactly is it that Aknamkanon had shown Atem. _Knowing my brother, he most likely didn't show Atem Kul Elna._

"So your father showed the whole kingdom, did he?"

Atem nodded proudly. "Everything."

"He didn't show the ruined city that lies beyond our borders?" The prince then saddened as he looked down in disappointment.

"Well, no. He's says I can't go there." Aknadin didn't fail to notice that down expression on his nephew's and smirked evilly. _This gives me an idea._

Aknadin then quickly feigned a concerned look on his face as if he cared about his nephew's well-being. "AND he's absolutely right! It's far too dangerous! Only the bravest men can go there."

Atem felt his pride somewhat questioned at that statement and was also curious as to what was out there and why wouldn't anyone tell him. He then looked up to his uncle. "Well, I'm brave! What's out-"

"I'm sorry, but I just can't tell you!" Aknadin seemingly insisted on not saying anything, knowing this would only make the young prince even more curious and insistent.

"Why not!?" Atem began to wine.

"Atem, Atem. I'm only looking out for the well-being of my favorite nephew." Aknadin put his hand on the prince's head and rubbed his head, his fingers brushing through that wild hair of his. Atem chuckled at his uncle's comment and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right. I'm your ONLY nephew."

Aknadin smiled greedily and put on a reasonable expression. "Well, with even more reason for me to protect. A haunted village that is home to evil spirits is no place for a young prince."

Aknadin then pretended to be shocked that he "accidentally" revealed something Atem wasn't suppose to know and put his hand to cover his mouth. "Opps."

Atem's eyes grew with excitement at the information he just received.

"A haunted what!? WOW!" Aknadin smiled at this reaction. He had Atem right where he wanted him. He continued acting as if he had committed a crime.

"Oh my! I've said too much! Well, I suppose you would have figured it out sooner or later. You, being sooo clever and all!" He goaded Atem, knowing that the boy was now even more determined to go. He decided to pull out his final act, before his plan was put into action. He grabbed Atem and hugged him closely.

"Just do me one little favor. Promise me you'll never visit that awful place." Atem looked at his uncle in the eye, before smiling mischievously.

"Sure, uncle. Whatever you say." Aknadin smiled, knowing that Atem at the moment was too curious, stubborn, and cocky for his own good. The prince really thought his uncle was trying to prevent him from going, when in reality; he was inwardly influencing him to break the rules.

"That's a good boy. Now run along now." He shooed Atem away, as the prince began to leave, but right before he was out of Aknadin's sight, he turned to face him.

His uncle then put a finger to his lips. "And remember it's our little secret."

Atem nodded before he excitedly ran off, not seeing the sadistic and evil smirk his uncle had.

()()()()()()

The young prince ran until he made it to the public bathing area, where the nobles would bathe and relax on a hot day, if they were not satisfied in their private bathing chambers. It was a artificial pool, built out of stone and marble, with decorative pillars surrounding it. There were also pipes built into ceilings, so that fresh water may come through. Atem looked around, until he found what, or better yet, who he was looking for.

It was Mana. His other best friend. She was two years younger than him, while significantly shorter than him, barely reaching over his shoulder height. The little girl had chestnut, brown hair while her eyes were a beautiful color of turquoise. Normally, she would wear a brown dress that reached her knees, while the top part was short-sleeved, covering her shoulders. She also usually would wear a brown headband at the top of her head.

But right now, she was wearing only undergarments as her mother, Layla, who was wearing knee-cut dress, was washing her child's hair. Right next to them, however, he soon realized who was there with them. His mother, Nefertiti, who was seemingly sleeping, while her body relaxed in the water.

The prince knew he had to be careful not to speak loudly when he told Mana the good news. He ran towards them, until he was right next to them. Meanwhile Layla threw a pitch of some more water on Mana, causing her to close her eyes, as she continued to wash her hair.

When the little girl opened her eyes, she noticed that her childhood-friend, Atem, was right next to her and smiled.

"Hi Atem." He smiled as he greeted her back.

"Hey Mana, listen," he began to whisper lower into Mana's ear, so that his mother won't hear him, "I just heard about this great place."

Mana was somewhat annoyed at being told this, precisely right now when she was enjoying her bath. "Atem, I'm kind of in the middle of a bath." Then she went back to enjoying her bath, as her mother continued to scrub her arms as she threw herself more water.

The prince was about to retort, until he heard a familiar voice cut in, following Mana's statement.

"And it's time for yours." Atem froze as the voice belonged to his mother's, which meant, he got caught. He tried to run off, but then felt a couple of delicate hands pick him up by the waist rather quickly, until he was sat on Nefertiti's lap. She then quickly proceeded to remove his tunic, along with his jewelry, and everything else, despite her son's protests, leaving only his kiln on. He was then dunked into the pool as she grabbed a pitch of water and poured it all over his hair, while she added some soap to it.

"Mom! Mom, you're messing up my hair!" Nefertiti stopped and looked down at the stubborn prince with a smile, before continuing to wash his hair and scrub his body, while he grumbled and protested. Mana secretly giggled at Atem's stubborn and grumpy attitude as he was being washed against his will.

After a few minutes of washing and scrubbing, Atem couldn't take it anymore as his mother threw the last pitch of water on him. Before the queen could continue to bathe her son, Atem stubbornly brushed his mother's hands away and headed out of the water. "Okay, okay! I'm clean! Can we go now?"

As a servant brought the young prince a towel so he can dry himself with, Mana decided to comment, as she was curious to where this so-called special place is, while her mother had started drying her body. "So where are we going? It better not be somewhere lame and boring."

As Atem had finished drying and fully dressing himself, the young prince retorted Mana's comment. "No, it's really cool!"

"So where is this "really cool" place?" Nefertiti asked, curiously, but slightly suspicious as she knew how mischievous her child can be. Meanwhile Atem felt his body freeze as he smiled nervously.

He had to quickly come up with an excuse, since there was no way he can reveal where they were actually going. "Um, at the Nile River."

Mana was annoyed at this as she turned back to Atem, while her mother brushed her hair, since she had been already dressed back into her usual attire. All this excitement just to see the Nile?

"The Nile River!? What's the big deal about the Nile river!?" Atem then got close to her and sternly whispered to her ear.

"I'll show you when we get there." He said it dead and sternly. After a few seconds, Mana caught on the hidden meaning behind Atem's words, realizing that they were actually going somewhere else, and the Nile was just an excuse.

"Oh, uh mom can I go with Atem?" As Layla finished putting Mana's headband back on her head, she looked unsure. Then she turned to the queen for help.

"Hmm, I don't know. What do you think Nefertiti?"

The queen thought about it for a moment. The children going to see the Nile River didn't really seem like bad idea. "Well…"

"Please!" Both children smiled innocently, while pleading to give them permission to go. At the sight of their adorable faces, Nefertiti finally decided to give in.

"It's alright with me." At this, the children jumped with excitement at being able to go.

"YEAH! Alright!" As they prepared the run off excitedly, the queen added one last condition.

"As long as Mahad accompanies you." The children's short-lived excitement disappeared and looked each other with shock.

"No, not Mahad!" Mana exclaimed. Nefertiti however, overheard her and raised her eyebrow in question.

"Is there is problem with that, children?" Both Atem and Mana looked back with nervous smiles on their faces, as they tried to dissimulate their worried expressions.

"No mother! Not at all! Mana was only kidding, right Mana?" He elbowed her so she could give a convincing answer.

"Yep, only kidding! Well, we have to go before it gets any later! Bye!" The children ran out of the bathing area, until they were out of their mothers' sights.

They stopped in the middle of the hall and started walking instead. Atem then looked at Mana in question. "What are we going to do? There's no way we'll be able to go with Mahad looking after us. He'll never allow it."

Mana then realized something. "Wait, so where are we really going?"

Atem leaned closer and whispered into her ear.

"Kul Elna, it's some haunted village."

Mana's eyes grew with fascination and excitement could be clearly heard in her voice."WOW! Really!? A haunted vill-!"

Atem cut her off by putting a hand on her mouth and shushed her as two guards walked by, completely unaware of the children, as they were too engrossed in their conversation.

As they were out of sight, Atem removed his hand from Mana's mouth as he looked at her, irritated. "Look we can't let anyone else know about this. Otherwise, we'll never get to go!"

Mana smiled sheepishly as nodded. "Right, sorry about that. So anyways, what are we gonna do about Mahad?"

Realizing Mana is right, Atem began to think. _Well, we could always find a way to ditch him on our way to the Nile and run off on our own._

But as soon as the thought came, he brushed it aside immediately. There was no way he could ever do that to Mahad. Had it been anyone else, besides his family and close friends, he wouldn't have cared. But not Mahad. Yes, Mahad was a goody-two-shoes and a party-pooper at times, but when it came to being a very good and loyal friend, he never failed to pull through. Plus, there were times that Mahad was a really fun person to be with, when he wanted to be.

Atem loved him like a brother and he was sure Mahad felt the same way about him and Mana. He had looked after them since they were both brought into this world and Atem owed him a lot. _I just wished he was more open with breaking the rules once in a while. That way, I would have no problem bringing him along in these trips._

As Atem was deep in his thoughts, Mana tapped his arm, causing him to look at her. "Well? Any ideas?"

Atem shook his head negatively. "I mean the only option would be to ditch him in the city, but I would feel like a bad friend, doing that to him. I mean he's like our brother."

Mana sighed in agreement and crossed her arms in thought. Then suddenly, an image of an adolescent girl, with long black hair, tan skin, and blue eyes came into view. Mana smiled widely as an idea came into mind. "I got an idea! I know exactly what we can do to fix this problem!"

Atem looked at Mana for moment, before smiling. Of course Mana had plan. She always had a backup plan for these kinds of things. Meanwhile Mana smiled mischievously. "But this calls for a woman's touch."

* * *

 **Yes! Finally done with chapter 3. It took me a while to finish this one. Hmm, bet you're all probably wondering what Mana's up to this time. Knowing her, it most likely won't end well. Lol Well, hope you guys like this one.**


	4. Chapter 4: Kul Elna, Danger Ahead!

**After days of working on this chapter, I'm finally finished. Happy Late Halloween to Everyone! This is my trick or treat to you. A New Chapter. Now here's what I've decided I'm gonna do. The reason I haven't been updating lately is because, now my classes are a lot more intense. I'm finally in the Nursing Program. So now the classes are twice as hard. Here's the thing though! I've decided that I'm gonna try to give out a new chapter every other holiday. For example, Halloween just passed, the next chapter I can guarantee will be on Thanksgiving or possibly before that. Then Christmas and after that comes New Years. Oh, by the way, thank you to all of those who have reviewed my story. It really means a lot!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Yu-Gi-OH**_ **or** _ **The Lion King.**_ **All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures**

* * *

Chapter 4: Kul Elna, Danger Ahead!

As the day began to head into the afternoon, there were 3 horses that walked calmly throughout the city, leading the way that lead to the Nile River. Civilians and merchants walked by, looking at them for a moment, before continuing on with their daily lives.

Mahad was riding the orange one that was ahead of the other two horses. The white one had Prince Atem on it, with Mana behind him, her arms around his waist, and holding on to him tightly for support. The gray one, which was right next to the white one, had a young girl on it around Mahad's age, with long, black hair, sun-kissed tanned skin, and blue eyes.

Her name is Isis. She was the daughter of a noble family, her mother being one of the 7 sacred guardians, and was next in line to inherit the Millennium Necklace, just as Mahad would inherit the Millennium Ring, and Atem would inherit the Millennium Puzzle from his father, when he became pharaoh.

She happened to be a very good friend to them, especially Mahad. Secretly though, he had a huge crush on her, even though he would always deny it openly. Mana would often tease him and embarrass him about it in front Isis and their parents. She would always comment that the two should get married, and have a baby, so that she can complete her dream of being a godmother. The end result would always end up with Mahad becoming completely embarrassed, his face turning red as a tomato, and end up running to his room, locking himself in for the rest of the day.

 _Good times!_ Mana secretly giggled as she remembered those embarrassing moments for Mahad, which she considered funny moments for her. This is precisely why she had invited her to join them. Not only would she and Atem would be able to get where they wanted with no trouble, but she would finally be able to get those two lovebirds together.

"Careful everyone, step lively now. The sooner we get to the Nile River, the sooner we can leave."Mahad announced to everyone behind him, before focusing on the street in front of him. Isis couldn't help but smile at Mahad, with a small blush appearing on her cheeks. _He's so cute when he tries to act all serious._

Atem took this moment, seeing the two older children completely distracted, to look back at Mana and whisper to her. "So you're sure this plan of yours is going work?" Mana rolled her eyes at his doubt.

"Of course! Have my plans ever gone wrong?" Atem raised an eyebrow in amusement and Mana scoffed in frustration. "Okay. So my plans don't always go exactly the way I want them to, but I swear that this one is definitely going to work!"

Atem rolled his eyes but sighed in defeat.

"As long as it doesn't involve one of your screw-up spells." At that, Mana became irritated and the two children began to argue in harsh whispers.

As they made it to the town market, where many merchants were selling and trying to persuade customers to buy more, Mahad stopped his horse, signaling the others to stop their horses as well. Atem had requested earlier to make a quick stop at the town market, saying he wanted buy something to eat. As Mahad was the first to get off, he noticed that Atem was helping Mana off the horse, while they were whispering to each other. However, he failed to hear that Mana finally convinced Atem of their secret plan as he reluctantly agreed, secretly praying to the gods for a Plan B that didn't involve Mana using magic. As they tied their horses around wooden poles, they walked to look around. Mahad, completely oblivious to what these mischievous children were up to, smiled at what he assumed he was seeing.

"Look at you two. Little seeds of romance blossoming in early Spring. Our families will be very thrilled, you know, with you being betrothed and all."

This made both the prince and Mana exchange confused glances, questioning what Mahad was talking about. Atem then looked back at Mahad. "Be-what?"

"Betrothed, affianced!" Both once again looked at each other in confusion, trying to understand what Mahad was trying to say. As they quickly drove circles around Mahad's words, Mana was finally beginning to grasp an idea of where this was going and she did not like it. This time, she was the one to look back at Mahad. "Meaning…"

Mahad smiled proudly. "One day you too are going to get married."

As soon as he finished his sentence, both Atem and Mana gave disgusted looks, expressing words such as 'yuck!', 'eww', and 'gross', as the simple idea of themselves being married to another person was considered revolting to them. "I can't marry her! She's my friend."

"Yeah, it would be so weird." Mana agreed with Atem.

"Well, I'm afraid you two lovebirds have no choice." Mahad said seriously, while crossing his arms, breaking the smaller children out of their thoughts. "It is a tradition that has happened through generations." Atem scoffed as he cockily smiled. "Well, when I'm pharaoh that will be the first thing to go!"

Mahad smiled and shook his head at the prince's arrogance. "Sorry your highness, but it won't be that easy to get rid of a tradition that has been around since the great pyramids were built. Besides, I don't get why you are upset about this. Like me, Mana comes from a family of master magicians and you've known her your whole life. She's the perfect match for you, or would you rather have your father pick out one of those noble girls instead?"

Mahad smirked, while Isis giggled at Atem's horrified expression. Mana, on the other hand, was getting annoyed at Mahad's teasing and decided this was the time to put her plan in action.

"Oh please Mahad, you out of all people giving advice about couples? You haven't even told Isis that you love her and that you want to marry her."

This caused Mahad to turn red as a tomato and freeze in place, while Isis blushed even more and looked away in embarrassment, while twirling her hair. "Wha-what are you sa-saying?!" He could barely stutter out any words as he was too embarrassed to talk properly, due to the very awkward situation Mana put him in.

"Oh come on! It's obvious to everyone that you're dying to be with her and that you think she's the most beautiful girl that ever walked the land. Just admit it to her already!"

Mahad was now even more mortified his face and entire body turning even redder. He then turned and saw Isis right next to him, with a light blush on her cheeks, a small smile, and her blue eyes glowed with hope. "So Mahad, is it true what Mana is saying here? Do you really like me and think I'm beautiful?"

Mahad was stuck in his own words and each time, drowning in his own embarrassment. It wasn't getting any better, with her face so close to his that their lips were merely a few inches away.

"I, um, well, yo-you definitely are somewhat pretty for a girl. No-wait! That came out wrong! What I meant to say was, you h-have a great personality, and um… well, you smell nice most of the time…."

As Mahad stumbled on his words, trying to find a way to get himself out of this, while Isis waited intently for his confession, Atem and Mana both giggled and snickered amongst each other. Seeing the two young adolescents far too distracted with one another, the prince and Mana took this opportunity to try and sneak back to Atem's horse, without them noticing.

On the way there, Mana took out her wand and was ready to try out her invisibility spell. She had practiced it a couple of times, though she could never fully get the spell right, as she would always leave a body part visible, which would scare people into thinking it was a ghost haunting the palace. Other times, when she tried the spell, she would accidentally cast a different spell, and sometimes, either Atem or Mahad would end up as victims of it. _But I know this time; I'm going to get it right! I can feel faith is on my side today. I just have to concentrate!_

Atem looked nervously at Mana's wand as he grabbed the reigns of his horse. He had a feeling this plan would go wrong, mainly because Mana was using magic. Now there was a fifty/fifty percent chance that they will go or they will not get to go. Suddenly, he realized something very important. _Wait, I don't even know how to get there!_

The prince slapped his forehead, now feeling really stupid for not having realized this sooner. Mana was just about ready to cast her spell, when she saw Atem's reaction and looked at him questioned. "What's the matter you?"

"I… don't know the way to get to that haunted village."

At this Mana gave him an annoyed expression. "What!? Why didn't you mention this before?"

The prince scratched the back of his head, while looking sheepish. "Well, I sort of forgot." Mana sighed in irritation. _Boys and their dense brains!_

"Well, now what are we going to do prince?" Atem let go of the reigns of his horse and crossed his arms in thought. They had to think of something. Mana also was trying to think of an idea of how to get to the haunted village. They could always ask around, but then again, Kul Elna was considered a very dangerous place and it would seem kind of suspicious that a couple of children were trying to get this kind of information.

The children were broken out of their thoughts, when they overheard a conversation between two civilians, one being a grown man and the other being young boy. Among their conversation, the boy mentioned something about 'that village is cursed', which sparked the children's interest.

"Maybe they're talking about the same place we're going at." Atem agreed at Mana's suggestion and was now determined to find out more. "Let's follow them."

The little magician-in-training nodded as both sneakily followed the oblivious civilians, sneaking behind carts and food stands. As the man and the young boy finally came to a stop, they began to pack up the things they had on a wooden trailer, which was tied to a huge donkey.

Atem and Mana hid behind a fruit stand as they observed the pair, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"But father, why do we precisely have to go by that village in order to get home? I've heard terrible stories about that place. The ghosts of thieves that use to live there now haunt the place. Some even say that their corpses rise up from the dead, when people trespass that place. "

The man, however, just rolled his eyes at his son. "Superstition. Yes, thieves use to live there, but now the village of Kul Elna is completely abandoned. There are no ghosts or corpses rising up from the dead. Just a bunch of rubble and ruins. Besides, it's not like we are going into the village. We are just passing by it. There is nothing to worry about."

The boy didn't seem convinced, but gave in as he and his father continued to pack up. At a small distance, Atem and Mana looked at each other and smiled at what they just heard. "Well, looks like we've just found our Plan B." Mana smiled at his words, as they continue to look at the wooden trailer.

"Now all we have to do is figure out how are we going to follow them without them noticing?"

As the kids began to form a plan, they failed to notice the tall figure behind them.

"WHAT DO YE' LITTLE BRATS THINK YOU'RE DOIN'!? TRYIN' TO STEAL MY FOOD!?"

Both Mana and Atem jumped in surprise as they turned around and saw a merchant with a long, black beard, one eye obviously blind because of its unusual grey color in contrast to the other brown one, crooked teeth, while he wore a long, brown robe. His overall appearance made the children feel disgust and slightly freaked out by the man. After somewhat overcoming the scare the man put them through, Atem was the first to speak.

"No sir. We have no need to steal your food. We were just trying to find some place to-" But before he could finish, the man rudely interrupted them once again.

"Hide!? So ye' can sneak away with my food without me noticing? Ye' know what!? Get out of my sight ye' little rodents! Before I call the royal guards that are patrolling here and have ya' arrested!"

The man took out a dagger and held it up in a threatening matter towards the children. At this, the prince grabbed Mana's hand and ran off to find somewhere else to plan their journey.

That man was quite rude and threatening to them. He obviously had no idea that he had been dealing with Atem, the prince of Egypt, and heir to the royal thrown. Otherwise he would have not even dared even raise his voice at him, let alone threaten him. Atem certainly felt like putting him in his place, especially after the way he threatened them like that. He hadn't run away because of the dagger. Had it been any other time, he would have revealed who he was and make him pay for threatening him and Mana. But he couldn't risk the palace guards recognizing him, and then questioning what he was doing outside the palace without supervision. They would certainly take him back to the palace, not giving him the chance to go to that haunted village, and he would get in a lot of trouble with his parents, also putting Mana in the same situation.

()()()()()()

"Look, Isis will you just listen to me!? I never meant it like that!" Isis was stomping away angrily from Mahad, doing her best not to look at him. The poor boy was walking fast at her side, trying to get her to look at him, so she would just hear him out. "Isis, please listen! Let me explain."

Isis finally stopped and turned to look at Mahad. The girl's face showed she was angry, though there was clearly hurt and sadness within her eyes, while small tears were at the edge of her eyes.

"Explain what!? You made it clear! You said that Mana had set this whole thing up! That what she said was complete nonsense! That it would be crazy for you to be in love with me! And to think I actually believed you when you said those sweet things to me, like how I smelled nice, and have a great personality. You just said that to make me feel better, so I wouldn't be sad when you told me that you don't like me."

The young girl used her sleeve to wipe away the small tears from her eyes and forced herself not to cry more. Mahad looked sad and distraught. He hated seeing her like this, especially now, since it's his fault. The truth is, he really did like Isis. Liked her since they were very small, and that feeling has been growing over the years, that he eventually started to believe that she could be the one. But the whole situation with everyone, especially Mana, always putting his feelings in public, thus embarrassing him in front of Isis, has forced him to try and deny those feelings, just to prove everyone wrong.

But now, Mahad wasn't willing to deny those feelings anymore, especially since that was hurting him and the girl he liked, or even loved. For once, he was going to swallow his pride, gather up his courage, and tell Isis the truth of how important she is to him, how true his feelings were. He grabbed the girl's hands into his and held them gently. This caused Isis to look at him in surprise.

"Isis, look. The last couple of things I said, regarding my feelings aren't true. I only said that because I was nervous and I panicked. Mana put me on the spot there and I just didn't want her to be right. As a matter of fact, I wanted to prove everyone wrong, because I was too prideful to accept it myself. I suppose it also had to do with the pressure. But the truth is, they were right all along."

Isis couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her heart was beating fast as butterflies fluttered within her stomach. Her cheeks flushed red as her eyes sparkled with joy. Mahad had more of a determined expression, although the emotion in his eyes reflected hers and his cheeks were also flushed.

"Wh-what are you saying Mahad?" He smiled as he continued his confession.

"I'm saying that when I told you, you smelled and had a great personality, I meant it. And not only that, you're also beautiful, strong, intelligent, and independent." The butterflies in Isis' stomach ran wild.

"The truth is," Mahad pulled her hands up in his, pulling her closer to him, their faces inches away. "Isis. I lo-"

A familiar peeping broke through the air, interrupting Mahad before he could finish his confession and ruining the special moment between him and Isis. Both children looked up and saw a hawk flying towards them, immediately recognizing the animal as Horus. Mahad looked displeased at his appearance. _That stupid bird always has to show up precisely at the wrong time! Thanks a lot father, you just ruined the moment for me._

The teen boy let go of Isis as he reluctantly held out his hand, so the hawk may land on it. He then removed the little paper off Horus' leg and read the letter. Isis looked at Mahad in question.

"What does it say?" Mahad crumbled the paper in his fist as Horus moved up to his shoulder. He sighed in annoyance.

"My father says the pharaoh wants us to return with the prince because we have a meeting in an hour with the court. It's regarding the boy they found near the Nile."

As both of them headed back to their horses, Isis began to look around, expecting to see either Mana or the prince nearby. But to her surprise, they were nowhere in sight and began to worry. "Um Mahad, where is the prince and Mana?"

Mahad scoffed at her question, thinking it was ridiculous, since he was still under the impression that they were still nearby. "What are you talking about Isis, they should be around here somewhere…"

But as he looked around as well, he realized that the two smaller children were nowhere to be found. He was now beginning to get worried. _I have a bad feeling about this…_

()()()()()()

The wooden trailer was slowing down as the donkey was growing tired of the long journey. The older man looked displeased at this, as the young boy was now even more frightened. This meant that they would have to let the donkey rest for a few hours, before they could travel again, which left them stranded in the open road of the desert. Though it wasn't as hot, since it was heading towards the evening.

Both of them got off the trailer and went off to look for some firewood, as they left the donkey resting. On the trailer, they had packed various things, among them, a giant brown vase, which they thought contained water. What they didn't know was that the vase had been emptied and now contained something else.

The vase then began to move as complaints and bickers of small children could be heard. Out of the vase, first came out Atem, first showing his tri-colored spiky hair, before he pushed himself out completely and climbed out of the vase. He then extended his hand helped pull Mana out of the vase. Both children then climbed out and walked off the trailer, trying to catch their breath.

"My gods, I couldn't take it anymore in there. I felt like I was dying of heat and intoxication in there." Mana smiled at the prince as she was more determined to look on the good side of things.

"But hey, at least we made it out of the city, without Mahad or anyone else knowing!"

Atem nodded excitedly at that, before gave that all too familiar cocky smile. "I am a genius!" Mana looked at the prince weirdly, before scoffing at his gloating.

"Hey genius, it was my idea." This didn't take away Atem's expression.

"Yeah, but I pulled it off!" This was now beginning to sound like a challenge to Mana as she was not willing to give up and let Atem get away with all the credit. "With me!"

He didn't fail to notice the competitive tone in her retort and knew what she was up to. Well, this time, he was prepared. He steadied his position, ready to tackle her.

"Oh yeah…" Before long, the prince tackled the smaller girl, but she tackled back with as much force. They rolled on the sand for a while, until Mana managed to pin the older boy onto the ground, much to his surprise. Mana smiled proudly, showing it off in Atem's face.

"Hah! Pinned you!" Atem seemed bothered at the fact that she managed to pin him… again.

"Hey, let me up!" He pulled her off of him, as she still held her triumphed expression. Atem, however, refused to give up as he smiled deviously, while Mana was still enjoying her victory.

"Gotcha!" Atem tackled Mana once more, surprising her, and pushing them off a cliff. The children laughed as they struggled to pin one another, as they rolled on each other. Once they finally reached the ground, Mana once again, gained the upper hand over the prince, and had him pinned to the ground once more.

Atem looked up at Mana with shock, not believing he lost to her again. The little girl gave him a triumphed smirk.

"Pinned ya again." But before she could continue to enjoy her victory for a second time, a pile of hot steam broke a hole through the ground nearby, causing the children to gasp in surprise.

As they looked at their surroundings, they finally realized that they were no longer in Cairo or even in the boundaries of the kingdom of what was considered Egypt. Everything was dark, grey, and misty. The children looked around at the dead-looking place with fascination and shock. Atem and Mana got up and saw a small hill, which was covering the view of the rest of the place.

Mana then playfully jumped on Atem's back, him giving her a piggy-back ride. He walked up slowly, as both prepared themselves to finally see the haunted village with their own eyes. As they reached the top, Mana got off the prince and stood next to him. The children stopped as their jaws dropped in awe. The village was now nothing more than a bunch of ruins, with fog and mist covering up most of everything. What had once been homes to thieves were now nothing more than a couple rubble, broken down within time.

But what really did shock the children the most were the couple of human skeletons that lay around the entire village, some completely whole in one place, while others had their bones scattered or were just broken apart.

Both Atem and Mana looked at each other, smiling in fascination. "Whoa."

The only thing that could be heard among the near dead silence was caws of migrating vultures that now used the ruined village as their home and looked for whatever food they could find.

"It's really creepy," Mana stated, slightly shivering but was still in awe and excitement. Atem agreed with her eagerly. "I know. It's great isn't it?"

"We could get in big trouble." Atem laughed in sarcasm.

"I know, huh!"

The children then slid off the hill and walked around the ruins of the village, never separating from one another. As they looked around, Atem stopped and looked at one skeleton that lay inside at the entrance of a stone building that was already half broken. Either he was beginning to imagine things, or the skeleton looked so out of place, as if it was recently moved from somewhere else, seeing that it lacked the dust, spider webs, or the dusty body imprint the others have where they lay. Not mention that its hand was still wrapped around a sword.

Mana examined the skeleton as well, also realizing the little details that made it different from the others. She then remembered what the boy with the trailer had mentioned earlier about this place. It made her shiver a little as she hid behind the prince for insurance, though she had her head sticking out on the side, observing .

"You know Atem, do you remember what that boy from the trailer said about this place? Do you really think that these skeletons are rising up from the dead?"

The prince looked back at Mana in question, thinking about that possibility before smiling deviously as he squeezed her hand in confidence. Mana smiled back, the slight fear at the back of her neck gone as she moved to his side, determined once more. They both looked at the skeleton as Atem drew closer to it.

"Well there's only one way to find out. Come on! Let's go check it out." But before he could take a step closer inside the building and near the skeleton, something flashed in front of him, blocking his path. As the creature stop in front of him, he realized it was Horus. _Then that means… oh no!_

"The only thing you two will check out will be to check out of here!" Both turned around to the all too familiar voice and came face to face with a very angry Mahad. Atem then scoffed annoyingly.

"Aww man!" Mana put the same reaction. Mahad, however, ignored them as his expression turned from angry to worry.

"We're way beyond the boundary of Egypt!"

The prince couldn't help but laugh at how much of a chicken Mahad was being right now, which rarely happened. "Oh look Mana. Goody-two-shoes here is scared."

The older boy, annoyed at his friend's mocking, grabbed him by the shirt, forgetting he was the prince for a moment, and looked at him dead in the eye. "It's MR. Goody-two-shoes to you, tri-colored know-it-all!" He then turned around to look at the ruin village with fear once more. "And right now, we are in very grave danger."

Despite his warnings, Atem continue to scoff at him as he was determined to show that he feared nothing. He broke free out of Mahad's grip and walked in front of the broken building where the skeleton they were observing earlier was.

"Hah, I walk on the wild side; I laugh in the face of danger! HA HA HA HA!"

But as soon as the prince boasted out his "evil" laughing, a couple of new, unfamiliar voices joined the laughing. This surprised and scared the prince as shivers came down his spine, when he realized the laughing was coming from behind him and inside the building he was standing in front of. He jumped and ran behind Mahad and in front of Mana, who were equally as surprised and frightened as he was.

Footsteps were heard and getting louder, until they saw a foot come out of the shadows and step on the skeleton, breaking its bones. Seconds later, the person came out fully from the shadows. It was a young man, who looked around two or three years older than Mahad. He skin was tanned like the rest of them, while a few scars marked his bare chest and face. His eyes were colored with an emotionless blue, while his black pupils were barely visible. His hair was long and snow white. He wore only a white kiln that covered his bottom half.

The man smiled wickedly at the children, as he walked towards them, while Mahad shielded both the prince and Mana in protection. "Well, well now what do we have here? Could you boys give me a clue?"

Behind the man, two more figures appeared out of the shadows, who appeared to be two boys, looking slightly older and taller than Atem. One had green, short hair, and wore green, tattered robe that had a black beetle in the middle of the chest area. The other boy had long brown hair that ran down to his waist area. He also wore a tattered robe, only it was plain red-brown. However, once they spoke, everyone realized they were older than they looked.

The one with the brown hair, known as Rex was the first to speak. "Gee, I don't know Bakura." He then looked back at his other same-sized companion. "What do you think, Weevil?"

Weevil laughed manically before answering his question. "Well I for sure see a couple of trespassers."

The three stopped in front of the children, with Bakura in the middle, obviously the head-honcho of the group, with both Rex and Weevil on his sides. Mahad nervously laughed, trying civically to get out of this problem and get themselves back to safety.

"It's a mistake I assure you. Just some navigational error." He gave his explanation, praying it would convince them, as he tried to leave with Atem and Mana. However, his hopes were shot down as Bakura grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

"Wait a minute. I definitely know you. You're the pharaoh's little right hand man and one of the heirs to inherit a millennium item." Bakura mocked as he and his minions began to walk circles around the children. "Hah, those items should belong to me!"

Mahad was a little angered at this accusation as it was disrespectful towards the pharaoh, the royal family, the sacred court, and their heirs. "I, sir, am the one destined to inherit the Millennium Ring as the prince, and the children of the sacred court are destined to inherit the other Millennium Items. No one else is allowed to have them."

Bakura laughed manically as if he had just said a joke. Meanwhile, Rex eyed Atem, noticing all rich garments and jewelry he wore, especially the golden crown on his forehead with an eye in the middle. "And that would make you?"

Atem stood with his head high in defiance, showing no fear. "The future pharaoh."

This sparked the interest of all three bandits as they realized what they had in their hands. Bakura laughed as he wrapped his arm around Atem's shoulder. "Future pharaoh, eh? Do you know what we do to kings or anyone of royalty who enters here?"

The prince scoffed angrily as he shrugged off Bakura's arm. "Pfff! You can't do anything to me!"

Mahad leaned his head closer towards the prince, irritated that he was only making the situation worse. "My prince, they technically can. We are trespassing into their land."

Atem was confused at this, since Mahad's statements about these thieves from earlier gave him the impression that they were not to be taken seriously. "But Mahad, I thought you said they were nothing more than a bunch of thieving, stupid bandits."

At that moment, the older boy wanted to strangle the prince for opening his big mouth, but was too frozen by fear of what these thieves; Bakura in particular, might do to them. He only elbowed the prince as he whispered into his ear.

"Ex-nay on the upidstay." Unfortunately for Mahad, Bakura overheard him and immediately reached down his height level, and came face to face with him angrily.

"Who are you calling upidstay!" Mahad backed up, with the children behind him. He pulled them with him as he made one final attempt to leave in peace.

"No one! Absolutely no one! My oh my, look at the sun! It's time for us to leave!"

But before the kids could make their escape, Rex stood in front of them, blocking their path, smiling wickedly. "Why the rush? We would love for you to stick around for dinner!"

Weevil laughed loudly once more before joining his companion. "Yeah, I mean unless it BUGS you to have us around!" He then laughed loudly at his own poor joke while the others were silent. Rex looked dumfounded at Weevil, while Bakura just rolled his eyes.

"Man Weevil, you stink at making jokes." Weevil then stopped laughing, and looked at Rex angrily.

"Like you can do any better!" Rex looked back at Weevil with equally challenging look.

"I totally can!"

"Oh yeah!"

The two thieves then began to argue with one another. Bakura looked disgusted and annoyed at their bickering as he rolled his eyes once more. _How in the world did I get stuck with these two idiots?_

Meanwhile Mahad took this opportunity to think of a way to escape. If it wasn't for Bakura being present, he probably would have escaped with the smaller children already, since the other two bandits were too busy being morons to notice. Besides, even if they did, they wouldn't be hard to handle for him, unlike their boss. He then looked up at the sky and finally thought of an idea. _I got it!_

He whistled, as both Atem and Mana were backed up near him. Bakura looked at him curiously; completely unaware of what was coming.

Then suddenly out of nowhere, Horus flew down and started pecking and clawing Bakura all over his head and face.

"Ow! Get off me you stupid bird!" He waved his arms, trying to get the hawk off of him. Rex and Weevil, of course, still didn't notice anything as they were still into their argument.

Mahad, Atem, and Mana saw their chance to escape and ran off into the barren village as far as they could. Once he was sure they were out of danger, Mahad called his hawk back as they continued to run.

Hearing his master's whistle, Horus retreated back into the skies. As Bakura saw the hawk fly away, he fixed himself and his composure. When he was finally fully recovered from the hawk's assault, he looked around and realized the children, especially the prince, were nowhere to be found. He looked even farther into the distance of the foggy village and saw them running at the very far end.

Bakura then looked back at Rex and Weevil, who were still bickering with one another. He became furious at their stupidity as his patience reached its limit.

"BE QUIET YOU IDIOTS! CAN'T YOU SEE THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!?"

Both Rex and Weevil stopped their bickering as they jumped in fear at his outburst. They then nervously looked around until they saw the children in the distance as well and gasped.

Bakura was already running ahead of them, not willing to miss this opportunity to get his revenge.

"Well, what are you waiting for you fools?! GET THEM!"

The boys didn't waste any time as they followed their master in pursuit of the children. As they ran, both Rex and Weevil had red and green auras glowing around them.

"Come forth! My ultimate great moth!" As Weevil said the words, the green light around him extracted from him and formed next to him into a giant, green moth.

"I summon you! My two-headed king rex!" The same happened with Rex's aura as it also extracted from him and turned into a giant, purple two-headed dragon. Both Rex and Weevil then hopped on their spirit monsters and flew off ahead.

Meanwhile Mahad was running behind the Atem and Mana, making sure that neither of them fell behind without his knowledge. _I have to tell the pharaoh that the prince is here!_

He then called Horus once more as the loyal hawk flew next to him. Not having time to tie the paper roll around his arm, Mahad had the hawk hold the roll in his claws instead. "Find Pharaoh Aknamkanon and tell him that we are inside the village of Kul Elna!"

Hearing the name of the pharaoh, Horus flew into the skies once more and went to search for the said king. Mahad knew the pharaoh should be already in the city, since he had told Isis to go back to the palace and tell him that the prince was missing. It definitely was a good idea to keep Horus with him. Not only did he help him find the prince and Mana, but he also helped them escape the bandits, and now was able to tell the king where they are. _And to think I called him stupid earlier._

Mahad was broken out of his thoughts as he felt something sticky and elastic rap around his leg and pulled him, causing him to fall on the ground.

Both Atem and Mana stopped and looked back at their fallen friend. "Mahad!"

Atem tried to go back for him and help him but Mahad stopped him.

"No my prince! I will be alright! Keep going!" Mana cried as she tried to go back as well.

"No! Both of you have to escape back to safety! I'll be fine! JUST GO!" Atem stood for a moment, not wanting to leave one of his best friends behind. However, noticing Mahad's insistent and determined expression, he reluctantly turned his head in pain, as he grabbed Mana's hand and continued to run ahead.

She cried at leaving their friend behind and then turned to Atem. "But what about Mahad!?"

Atem looked back at the little girl, while they still ran. "Mana we have to keep going! He said he was going to be fine and I have a feeling that it's going to be that way. We just have to trust him!"

Mana was still doubtful as she looked back, worried for Mahad.

()()()()()()

At the same time, Mahad sat up and touch onto whatever had grabbed his leg. He felt something stick on his fingers and took back his hand, looking at the white stuff stuck to his fingers, realizing it was… _spiderweb!?_

"Hey look Weevil! We got one!"

"You mean I'VE got one!"

Mahad looked back and his eyes widened at the sight. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. They were spirit monsters. To him, this couldn't be possible. Only those with a diadhank, which he knew only the pharaoh and the sacred court possessed, were able to summon either their spirit monsters or other shadow creatures. Unless of course the person possessed a very powerful ka and they had proper training to summon it at will. _And judging by the power level that these two possess, it's pretty obvious they don't fit that category. Unless…_

He heard laughter from ahead and saw Bakura at the very distance, riding wildly on Mahad's very own horse. As the wicked man drew closer, he didn't fail to notice his index and middle finger pointed towards his forehead, the way someone would when ready to summon a spirit monster.

He felt a strange connection between the life energy coming from Bakura and that of the spirit monsters. _Yes of course, Bakura must have used some kind of spell to help these two bring out their inner kas. I knew he was more dangerous than these two, but never did I imagine for him to be this powerful!_

As Bakura finally made it, he stopped the horse on its tracks and smiled evilly at Mahad.

Rex and Weevil joined in with wicked smiles. Rex then looked at Bakura in hope of approval at their work. "Look boss! We've captured one of these brats!"

Weevil looked annoyed at Rex. "Stop taking credit for what I did! My great moth was the one who did all the work, while you-"

"Silence you fools!" Bakura demanded, not wanting to hear them argue once again. This silenced both of the shorter thieves.

Bakura looked at Mahad, but soon realized that the prince and the little girl was nowhere in sight. Suddenly Weevil's words from earlier came back to him and he grew angry at the mistake his minions made.

"You fools! You forgot to capture the other two brats! Go after them now! And you better not come back empty-handed, especially if you don't bring the prince!"

Rex and Weevil both shook in fear, but obeyed their master's commands as they flew off on their spirit monsters, leaving Mahad at the mercy of Bakura.

As they left, Bakura smirked at Mahad as dragged himself away from him, his eyes looking defiantly at the older being. Bakura, however, stepped on his leg hard, causing Mahad to cry out in pain. This caused Bakura to laugh maniacally.

"You and I have some unfinished business to take care of little boy. First for having insulted me and then sending that wretched bird of yours to attack. Did you honestly think you could make a fool out of me and get away with it? You foolish child. Now it's time for you to pay up."

As Bakura drew closer, towering over him, and began to chant a spell, Mahad felt fear crawl down his spine as he realized this might be the end of him. He crossed his arms in front of his body, using this as his last line of defense, while closing his eyes and preparing himself for a possible death. _Forgive me my pharaoh. I'm sorry father. I'm sorry my prince. I'm sorry Mana. I tried my best, but it seems I won't make it to become a sacred guardian after all._

But just when he thought it was all over for him, something unexpected happened. An electric current crashed into Bakura, pushing him against a wall and knocking him out-cold.

Hearing the sounds of blasts and Bakura's scream of surprise and pain, he opened his eyes and looked around trying to figure out what was going on and why wasn't he dead. On one side, he saw Bakura's figure, completely unconscious on the floor. _But how?_

He then looked to the other side of where the blast had come from and Mahad's eyes widened in surprise and awe…

()()()()()()

Atem and Mana stopped in front of a hill which most likely was an exit out of this place and lead to the road on the other side. The hill, however, was kind of steep, and was full of fog, rubble, and more scattered bones of human skeletons, which made the children shiver.

But the prince knew this could be their only way out and to call for help. He grabbed Mana's hand in determination.

"Come on Mana, this may be our only way out!" He grabbed her hand in a convincing matter and both children started climbing. As they hurriedly climbed towards the top, Atem then heard two very familiar voices.

"There they are!" Both children looked down in fear as they saw Rex and Weevil riding on a giant moth and a giant two-headed dragon. Both children looked at each other in shock for a moment, wondering how it was possible that these two weaklings were able to summon spirit monsters.

But as soon as they saw the thieves with their monsters approaching them, they came to their senses as they continued to climb. The prince took the lead without realizing it. He climbed and climbed, close to reaching the top. _Almost there!_

"Atem!"

Hearing Mana's echoing scream, he looked down and was horrified at what he saw. The moth had spit out another web, which tangled around Mana's legs and pulled on it, dragging her down.

"AHHH!" She screamed as she tried to grab onto something to prevent herself from being pulled down any further, but to no avail.

 _No! Not another one of my friends! Not this time!_ Atem began running back down the hill, as he took out the dagger around his hip, which he only brought in case of an emergency.

"Hah! We've got another one! Now all we need is that bratty prince and then we can-" Weevil didn't get to finish as he saw the said prince leap into the air, which surprised him. Atem jumped on the moth's head.

"W-what are you doing!? Get off my precious moth-" Before Weevil finished protesting at what the prince was doing, Atem held back the dagger and stabbed it into the moth's head.

The moth let out a pained screech as it flew uncontrollably. This also caused Weevil to scream as well and grab his head in pain. Atem took out the dagger and jumped off the moth and landed onto the ground. He then ran towards Mana and used the dagger to cut her free of the web that was restraining her legs.

Once she was free, Atem pulled her up to her feet and looked at her concerned, while he held her hands in his. "Are you okay?"

Mana looked in his eyes, astonished at how brave he was in facing that creature and rescuing her. She smiled in reassurance. "Yep. Don't worry about me."

Now completely convinced that she was alright, he grabbed her hand once more and ran once for it. Their path, however, was once again blocked, this time by Rex and his two-headed king rex. He smirked at them.

"Where do you brats think you're going? You still have to deal with me, so don't celebrate just yet!"

Atem stood in front Mana, shielding her in a protective manner, while holding out his dagger menacingly. Rex laughed at the prince's reckless courage. "Now my two-headed king rex, rip these brats to shreds!"

Rex was so caught into the moment of victory, that he forgot that he was suppose to only capture the children, not kill them. One of the heads of dragon dug down, ready to take a bite out of the children. Right before the attack reached them, Atem grabbed Mana and rolled them out of the way, causing the dragon to bite onto the ground instead. They stopped precisely right behind the dragon, with Atem on top of Mana

Immediately Atem pulled himself back up on his feet and helped the little apprentice up again. They then ran to the opposite direction of the hill as fast they could. As they headed deeper into the village, Atem took a wrong turn out of panic and pulled Mana into a huge cave that was on part of the steep boundary that surrounded the village. They ran inside, recklessly hoping that it lead to a way out of this place.

To their misfortune, they eventually came to a dead end. The children stopped in front of the wall, looking desperately for another way out but there was none. Now completely frightened, Mana was ready to cry there and now. "Atem! We're trapped!"

Following her statement, they heard laughing and crackling coming the way they came from, along with giant footsteps that shook the ground. They gasped in horror as they turned around and saw Rex and Weevil on their spirit monsters, closing in on them. Both thieves had wicked smiled on their faces.

"Where to now, little children? It seems you won't be able to escape us this time!" Weevil laughed loudly, Rex following in pursuit.

"Man, Bakura will definitely be pleased when he sees we managed to capture both the prince and the little girl!"

As they drew closer, Atem stood in front of a frightened Mana, bringing out his dagger menacingly. He bravely gave them a threatening gaze and stood his position, as if to let them know he was not going down without a fight.

"That's what you think! If you think I'm going to let you take us that easily, you're sadly mistaken! You're going to have to take me down first, before you can even lay a finger on my friend!"

As the prince screamed out his threat, there was silence for a few seconds, with everyone staring at him in shock, before Rex and Weevil burst out laughing.

"Ha, ha, ha! Look at that Weevil! Our little prince here is trying to be a hero!"

Weevil also finding this amusing stopped laughing and smiled evilly. "Well, if he wants to make the heroic sacrifice, let us do the honors in helping him in that. Ready my perfectly ultimate great moth!"

The moth entered battle mode, ready to shoot out a web towards the prince. Atem stood his ground, shielding Mana with his body in a protective manner, as he readied himself for the attack.

But before Weevil could even release his attack, something had blasted onto both the moth and the two-headed king rex. From what everyone could see, it was a blast of electric lightening bolts.

Both Atem and Mana were completely in a state of shock of what had just happened. The lightening had completely destroyed both spirit monsters, the impact of the blast causing both Rex and Weevil to be send flying, while they screamed in horror.

Smoke covered the entire area in the aftermath of the attack, forcing the children to cover their eyes and mouth from the smoke. After a few moments, the prince began to open his eyes again slowly as he tried to register what had occurred.

The smoke began to clear up and the first thing he noticed was the fallen, but very much alive figures of the two dwarf thieves laying on the ground, as they groaned in pain. Behind them, the smoke had finally cleared off and revealed the one responsible behind the mysterious attack.

"Father!" Atem couldn't believe his eyes. Pharaoh Aknamkanon was standing there, with a calm composure, though his expression clearly showed that he was very upset. His diadhank was wide open, proving that he was the one who summoned the monster that saved him and Mana. Next to him, his shadow creature, Summoned Skull stood still, waiting for the orders of his master.

But despite Atem noticing his father's livid expression, he managed to bypass that for a moment as both he and Mana realized who was behind the pharaoh. The kids smiled in excitement and relief as they realized it was Mahad, standing there live and well.

"Mahad!"

The children, however, didn't have the time to go greet their friend as the pharaoh angrily used his magic to levitate both Rex and Weevil and slam them against the wall that was nearest to him.

"Ow!"

The two morons groaned in pain at the impact. As they realized they were face to face with the pharaoh, the living embodiment of the gods themselves, they nearly peed themselves in fear as they knew exactly why he was angry. The only thing they could do now was to beg for forgiveness and hopefully he'll be merciful with them.

"Okay! Uncle! Uncle!" Rex begged

"SILENCE!" The king roared in anger.

This frightened the thieves even more and continued to beg for their lives.

"Okay we're going the shut up now! We're really sorry! We didn't mean any harm!" Obviously it was a very stupid statement, which tested the patience of the king.

"If you ever come near my son again…" He gave his usual dangerous tone in his warning.

Rex and Weevil tried their last attempt to justify themselves.

"What- this is… this is your son? Did you know that Weevil?" He dissimulated hoping Weevil would catch on and play along.

"No! Of course not! If we had known, we would have never even touched a single strand on that beautiful hair of-"

Once again, Weevil didn't get to finish his statement, as the king used his magic and threw them towards the entrance of the cave, tired of hearing their pathetic excuses. "Leave now! Before I change my mind and have you to join your master in the dungeons!"

At this, Rex and Weevil immediately got up in fear, ready to escape as far away as possible.

"Tootles!" was the last thing Rex said, before both boys scrambled hurriedly out of the cave, like a pair of frightened dogs with their tails between their legs.

Once he was sure they were completely gone, Aknamkanon put away diadhank which send Summoned Skull back into his stone tablet. Mahad looked satisfied at how things turned out well and looked up at the king proudly.

Aknamkanon, however, gave him an angry expression, showing he was very upset of the whole situation. Mahad's smile disappeared as he backed up nervously.

The prince knew he was in trouble and that he would have to give his father an explanation sooner or later, no matter how angry he was. With Mana walking behind him, he nervously walked up to his father's side. Looking up Atem gulped.

"Father I-" But as soon as Atem began, the pharaoh immediately looked down at him furiously and cut him off.

"You deliberately disobeyed."

Atem was lost at words at hearing the anger and disappointment in his voice, which gave him a sinking feeling. He looked up at his father once more pleading him to forgive him.

"Dad I'm-I'm sorry."

"Let's go home." He sternly said with such force, which meant that the conversation was over. Aknamkanon turned around and walked ahead. Mahad looked back at the prince for a moment with sadness in his eyes, before following the pharaoh.

Atem and Mana also followed. The prince had his head bowed in shame and sadness. Mana looked at him, feeling bad for how he was feeling at the moment. She then quietly commented, hoping it would lighten him up a little.

"I thought you were very brave." Although the prince heard her compliment and appreciated it, at the moment, he was feeling too depressed to say anything.

The group finally made it out of the cave as they followed the pharaoh through the foggy village at night. Unbeknownst to them, a figure within the fog and shadows watched them carefully, as his golden eye glowed within the dark.

()()()()()()

The group had finally made it to the outskirts of the city of Cairo, with the bright crescent moon shining in the sky. They were currently riding their horses through the open horseback riding field. Pharaoh Aknamkanon was currently taking the lead. Right next to him were two of his palace guards who currently had Bakura chained to their horses.

Behind them was Mahad riding silently. Atem followed close behind with Mana holding onto him. He was still looking down since they left and Mana was feeling guilty for not being able to cheer him up.

Finally the pharaoh stopped, causing everyone else to stop their horses. They heard him order the guards to take Bakura to the dungeons, so that later on, he may form a sacred court ritual on this man. That way, the Millennium Items can determine where this power of his was coming from.

The guards quickly obeyed their king's orders as they practically dragged Bakura back to the palace. He then looked behind him. "Mahad!"

Hearing his name, the adolescent boy gulped nervously and rode slowly next to the pharaoh.

"Yes sire." Aknamkanon only glanced at him with a serious expression as he got off his horse.

"Take Mana home. I have to teach my son a lesson."

The prince was slightly frightened at this as he bowed his head nervously. Mahad followed the pharaoh's orders as he then rode next to Atem.

"Come Mana." He then looked at Atem and patted his shoulder in consolation. "My prince, good luck."

Atem said nothing, too frightened at what his father had in store for his punishment. Mana had jumped off Atem's horse and onto Mahad's.

Mahad then rode his horse slowly back to the palace. Atem looked worriedly at them, as Mana turned her head for a moment to stare sadly at the prince. Atem continued to stare as his two best friends rode farther and farther into the city.

"Atem!"

The prince cringed at the demanding voice of his father as he looked back. The pharaoh had his back turned, but Atem knew that his father was waiting for him. The prince knew that the time to face the consequences for his actions had come.

He slowly got off his horse and walked nervously towards his father, his head bowed in shame. As he finally reached his father's side, Atem stood there, waiting for whatever lecture or punishment he father was about to give him.

Sensing his son was right next to him, Aknamkanon closed his eyes in a pained expression before looking down at the prince in disappointment.

"Atem I'm very disappointed in you." The boy looked up in sadness before looking down in shame, regretful.

"I know."

But the pharaoh wasn't finished in lecturing his son. "You could have been killed! You deliberately disobeyed me! And what's worse; you put Mana in danger and practically dragged Mahad into the same situation, who was only trying to protect you!"

Atem felt guilty, since everything his father was saying is true. And the fact that he was being harsh about it only made him feel worse than he already was. Perhaps if he explained why he did it, maybe his father would understand. The boy sobbed as he sadly looked up at his father.

"I was just trying to be brave like you." This statement made the king soften a bit as he tried to understand his son's reasoning. Atem admired him a lot and like any other child, it is only logical that he would try to follow in his father's footsteps. Aknamkanon sighed as he needed to have his son understand that his actions today were not the way to prove one's bravery.

"My son, I'm only brave when I have to be." He then leaned down to the boy's height level and looked at him in understanding. "Atem, being brave doesn't mean you go looking for trouble."

Atem back at his father, confused. "But you're not scared of anything."

The pharaoh smiled. "I was today." The prince gasped in surprise.

"Really?"

The king nodded in confirmation. "Yes I thought I might lose you."

The prince smiled, finally beginning to understand his father's reasoning.

"I guess even kings get scared huh?" The pharaoh nodded, happy with this, seeing his son was already beginning to understand what he was trying to teach him.

"M-hm." Atem soon after remembered the frightened expressions of Rex and Weevil and how they left with their legs shaking, after his father had dealt with them. He laughed inwardly as he leaned closer to his father.

"You know what?" The pharaoh raised an eyebrow, noticing the cocky expression on Atem's face, a sign that he was returning to his old self. He leaned in closer.

"What?" Atem smiled deviously.

"I bet those thieves were even scareder." The pharaoh chuckled, and then returned the same smile.

"Because no one messes with your dad! Come here you!" To Atem's surprise, his father grabbed him and wrapped his right arm around the neck, while with his left, he used it to noogie Atem's head, messing up his spiky hair.

"No! No!" Atem struggled against the pharaoh's grip but was also laughing at how playful his father was being right now. After much effort, the prince finally managed to break out of his father's grasp and got ready to tackle him.

Aknamkanon ran away from the child, giving him a challenge, while laughing playfully. Atem chased his father, refusing to give up and get him back for that noogie. As he ran after his father, the prince saw a giant cliffy rock ahead.

He ran on it, giving him height advantage and leaped off it. He landed on his father's back, his little arms wrapped around his neck. The king lost his balance and fell on the brown, dry grass. As he looked back up and could tell Atem was sitting on his back, legs and arms crossed, while holding a triumphed smirk on his face. "I win!"

Both father and son laughed together for a while, enjoying the precious bonding time that was between a parent and their child. As they began to calm down from their laughing, Atem could not imagine a life without his father by his side. That is when he began to question himself. _Will things always like this?_

The prince looked down at his father beneath him. "Hey dad, we're pals right?"

Aknamkanon chuckled. "Heh, right."

Atem smiled at this. "And we'll always be together right?"

This is where the pharaoh turned a little more serious, realizing his son's question and knew he couldn't give him the answer he wanted to hear. The king knew this was the time to tell the young prince of the story of his ancestors. A story that was passed down from his own father, when he was prince.

The pharaoh picked himself up, with Atem holding onto his back in a piggy-back position. "Atem, let me tell you something that my father once told me when I was a child. Look at the stars, the great pharaohs of the past, look down on us from those stars."

The prince stared at the sky in awe. "Really?"

"Yes, so whenever you feel alone, just remember that the great pharaohs will always be there to guide you. And so will I."

Both the prince and the pharaoh continued to stare at the sky for a little longer, before they walked back to their horses, getting ready to head home and get a good night's rest from the difficult day they had.

* * *

 **Yeah, I just couldn't help but throw in some Mahad/Isis fluff. One more pairing confirmed in this chapter! I'll admit, it was pretty hard to write out an action scene, like a battle between duel monsters. Hope it was decent enough for you guys. And just to make one thing clear, Summoned Skull is NOT Aknamkanon's spirit monster. In other words, that's not his** _ **ka,**_ **just a shadow creature he summoned from the shadows** _ **.**_ **Oh and before someone says that how Summoned Skull was able to beat the great moth, when his life points are much lower than the great moth, remember this isn't a duel monster's trading card battle. This is a battle between real monsters, where their powers aren't restrained by life points. So anyways, thank you all to who favored, followed, and reviewed my story! You guys are awesome! Hope you liked this really long chapter. It took a lot of time and effort for me to make this for you guys!**

 **And for the question of the day, do you really think Bakura is going to stay in that dungeon and that will be the end of him? Or do you think he's going to find some way to escape? I'll leave it to you guys to think it through, until the next chapter is up!**


	5. Chapter 5: Plan of Betrayal

**Hey guys! It's me again. Once again, I would like to thank you so much for taking your time to read my stories and for reviewing it. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! And I'm moving to a new apartment. Anyways, here's another chapter to my story. Well, here is where things start getting a little sinister! But don't worry, there is also going to be some fluff in this chapter! So enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Yu-Gi-OH**_ **or** _ **The Lion King.**_ **All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures**

* * *

Chapter 5: Plan of Betrayal

Aknadin was currently walking through the stone hallways, which were currently lit by the torches on the wall. It was almost heading into midnight and almost everyone was asleep at the palace. But as usual, Aknadin was always to be the runt of the litter and did things his own way.

Today, he considered one of the worst days of his life, ever since his brother was chosen Pharaoh instead of him. The day he thought he would finally get rid of his wretched nephew, who was the main obstacle that prevented him from reaching the throne, turns out that he came back in one piece. Of course he should have expected that his brother might intervene in his plans.

The sacred guardian continued to walk as his thoughts raced back to the thief they brought back from Kul Elna. As far as he saw, the thief named Bakura was so powerful, that he was capable of withdrawing the _ka_ of another individual as he did with the other two weaker thieves. It intrigued him that low-class thief would possess that kind of power. He knew that something like this was nearly impossible, even for a sacred guardian. He had to investigate further about this thief before Aknamkanon performed a sacred ritual on him when the sun rises.

As he passed down the hallway, he saw a figure leaning against a door to one of the rooms. As he approached closer, he realized that the figure appeared to be that of a young boy, who looked around the same age as Mahad. The boy wore brown and tattered clothes, while being barefooted. His long, brown hair reached down to the middle of his back, almost matching his tan skin. His sharp, blue eyes narrowed towards the ground in concerned. _This must the boy that they found at the Nile._

After the morning court meeting, the same meeting for which Shadi scolded him for missing, the pharaoh had made the choice to keep the boy and train him as another student, along with the heirs that were to inherit the Millennium Items. Aknamkanon had originally planned another meeting in order to officially present the boy with the whole sacred court, the prince, and the other heirs of the Millennium Items. But with the whole fiasco that Atem put himself and his friends into, the pharaoh immediately had to cancel the meeting as he went to his son's rescue.

Aknadin sneered at the memory as he finally made it almost half-way towards the boy. The priest took his time to observe him as the boy still hadn't noticed the priest still too lost in his thoughts. Aknadin couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity within this boy. As if he had seen him somewhere before.

Feelings eyes on him and the unfamiliar presence of someone nearby, the boy titled his head up and looked at Aknadin's direction. His icy blue eyes looked skeptical for a moment before noticing the Millennium Eye and realized that this man must a sacred guardian. _But why didn't I see him during the meeting?_

 _"_ Forgive me sir, for not noticing you. I didn't mean to be disrespectful." Aknadin raised an eyebrow, intrigued by how polite and well-mannered the boy was, despite his disheveled appearance and his cold-looking eyes.

"There is nothing to be forgiven. But it does seem quite strange that you are out here at this time at night. One would find it quite suspicious."

The young man then looked back down to floor in thought. "I was just thinking some things through. I'm quite grateful with the pharaoh that he would give me this opportunity to start over. I never thought something like this would happen to me after everything I lost..."

At this point, the boy was talking to himself more than he was the priest. Aknadin did not fail to notice the shifting tone his voice, as his expression showed a hint of sadness. It made him feel sympathy for the young lad, though he had no idea why. He had never felt this way about anyone, not even for his own brother and nephew. Only a certain family which he had to abandon years ago for their own safety.

Aknadin then straightened himself again as he decided to learn a little more about this boy. "And where did you come from boy? If my brother decided to keep you in the palace and decided to train you among the noble children, then that must mean there is more to you than meets the eye."

At hearing the word 'brother', the boy raised his head in shock. "You're the pharaoh's brother?!"

"Yes. I am Priest Aknadin, one of the seven sacred guardians and keeper of the Millennium eye. And among all that, I am indeed Pharaoh Aknamkanon's brother. But everyone here addresses me as Master Aknadin and I expect no different from you."

The young man looked at Aknadin for a moment, sensing seriousness, but with a hint of arrogance in his tone. A few seconds before nodding in agreement.

"Of course Master Aknadin."

The priest grinned in cockiness as he was glad this boy got the message clear. "Good now you didn't answer my question from earlier. Where are you from?"

The boy stood quiet for a moment before answering cautiously. "A came from a village not too far from here. It resided within this region."

Aknadin did not miss the past tense the boy had used. "Resided?"

"Yes. My village was burned down and destroyed by slave traders a few weeks ago. My mother and all my friends were... killed in that massacre. Since then, I have been traveling from village to village in order to find some refuge. But I realized that none of those places could offer the opportunity I needed in order to start a new life. When I arrived at the city of Cairo, I had just made it to the Nile River and refill my water sack. But then some thieves ambushed me and stole everything I had in my possession. They left me unconscious, assuming I was dead. It wasn't until the next morning that the royal court found me."

Aknadin was appauled at the story this boy just told, trying to analyze every detail. What really intrigued him the most was the fact that he had come from a village that had been burned down only a few weeks ago. There had been news about a particular village being burned down down to ashes, which had reached the palace only a few weeks ago as well. _Is he referring to the village of At-Tahiya? The same village where my-_

"Master Aknadin, is everything alright?"

The old man was broken out of his thoughts as realized the young man was looking at him with concern, realizing his discomfort. Aknadin immediately changed back to his cold-looking expression, a very similar expression that the boy recognized and remined him of himself. "It is nothing. I lament that you had to go through such a horrible experience. But I do expect that you learned something from this and do not waste the opportunity that this kingdom is offering you at the moment."

The boy nodded in agreement, determined to prove himself worthy. "Thank you Master Aknadin. I assure you I will not fail any of you. In the name of the pharaoh, and in the name of the crowned Prince Atem, who I have yet to meet."

The priest snorted in annoyance at the mention of his brother and nephew, though the adolescent didn't notice. Deciding he was already bored and wanted to get back to his original task in finding out more about the thief, he decided to end the conversation.

"Well, then. We shall all see if you truly are able to prove your worthiness to this kingdom." Aknadin then walked past the boy as he headed towards the dungeons. "I shall be going now. And I suggest you don't make a habit out of being out of your chambers at this time at night. It would seem rather suspicious if something were to happen and you would happen to be at wrong place at the wrong time."

The boy nodded once more in agreement. "Yes of course." Aknadin nodded back as he headed his way to his destination. But before he was completely gone, a curious thought came to mind. He stopped for a moment, though his back was turned to the young adolescent. "Before I leave, would you tell me your name? That way I can have something to call you besides 'boy'."

Although Aknadin had not meant it as a joke, the boy found it funny anyway and chuckled lowly before answering. "It's Seto."

As soon as the name left the boy's lips, Aknadin froze in shock. His expression showed one of surprise, shock, and anguish. It felt as his breathing was cut short and his hands were shaking. He turned around slowly, his face still showing he was in a state of shock. He analyzed the boy slowly and couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Wh-what did you say? Repeat to me your name."

The boy, now known as Seto, eyed him curiously, finding the man's behavior odd. "I said my name is Seto. Master Aknadin. Are you alright? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Now confirming that he indeed heard correctly, Aknadin's eyes widened even more as his became extremely tense. Now that he had gotten a closer look at Seto, his characterisitcs were indeed indentical to that of- _It just can't be! My own son is standing right in front of me!_

Not being able to process the discovering that was happening right before his eyes, Aknadin turned and ran as far away as possible.

()()()()()()

Atem tossed and turned in his bed, trying to get some sleep, but it was impossible, due to the difficult day he had. Despite he loved the fact that he and his father had some bonding time and was no longer mad at him, his disobedience did not go unpunished and he was prohibited from going anywhere that wasn't breakfast, lunch, dinner, a court meeting, or his classes, especially if it meant leaving the palace under any circumstances. He also wasn't allowed to play with any of his friends for two whole weeks. Even though Nefertiti had been more caring and understanding with her son when she found out about his little misadventure, she still was unhappy about Atem lying to her and stood by her husband's decision. _I'm gonna be bored to death just staying in my room most of the time. Well, at least mother and father aren't mad at me anymore._

The truth was, Atem wasn't all that upset about being grounded or having disappointed his parents, since they had already forgiven him. However, he was still feeling guilty about having put Mahad and Mana in both trouble and danger. He feared that their parents would be much harder on them than his were. Mahad, for not having been more responsible in looking after the royal heir and Mana, for having dragged her into his plans.

They were his best and closest friends, and he'd hate for them to be in any trouble because of him.

"Hey! Mana that's my foot you're grabbing!"

"Well, maybe if you'd climbed faster, we wouldn't have this problem!"

"May I remind you, this was your idea! I swear why do I even let you involve me in your silly plans?"

The bickering voices broke Atem out of his thoughts as he looked outside to his balcony, recognizing those voices all too well. He got up from his bed and grabbed his tunic, putting it back on to cover the upper part of his body. He then walked outside of his balcony. The voices grew louder and realized they were coming from the side of his balcony. Atem looked over the edge and what he saw definitely surprised him.

Both Mahad and Mana were climbing up a rope made of curtains and bed sheets, with Mahad taking the lead. The rope was tied to a metal hook, which was caught on the other side of the ledge of Atem's balcony. "Mahad! Mana! What are you guys doing here?!"

Smiling at his surprised, yet excited tone Mana answered eagerly. "We came to see you!"

Atem smiled as he first grabbed Mahad's hand and helped pull him up. After that, both boys helped pull Mana up. Soon the three friends were standing in front of each other. Atem was extemely happy that his friends had come to see him, yet confused as to why. "So, why did you guys need to see me so badly, and how did you get past the guards?"

Mana smiled smugly before lifting up her finger. "The freeze spell of course. See! I told you guys I'm getting better with my spells! And to think that you kept insisting on doing it yourself."

Mahad rolled his eyes at her. "Yeah. We get it. Your brilliant planned worked." He then focused on Atem. "Mana insisted on coming to see you. We were both worried and wanted to know how you were doing."

The prince was rather shocked that his friends cared so much about him that they would go through all this trouble just to see him. Especially after all the trouble he himself had caused them. His eyes then everted to the side, feeling a little guilty again. "I'm alright. My father isn't mad at me anymore. But I'm still punished. No going anywhere that isn't the dining hall when time to eat or when attending my lessons, especially outside the palace. I'm also not allowed to play with you guys. For two weeks."

Mahad and Mana both winced at hearing how rough his punishment was. Still it wasn't as bad as they expected. Normally among royalty in Egypt, children who misbehaved would get all that, minus the dinner, and an extra 10 minute whipping on the back. Mana was then saddened to hear that he would not be allowed to play them, which meant she would only see him when they had classes.

"Oh. What did your mother say when she found out?"

"Well-" But before Atem could answer, a strong wind suddenly blew through the cold night, making the three of them shiver.

"How about we continue this conversation inside my room, where it's warm?" The other two children nodded in agreement as they all headed inside the prince's room.

()()()()()()

A torch had been lit and put on Atem's nightstand, illuminating the room as three children sat in a circle on Atem's bed. The prince had already told them about his mother's reaction. He was now listening while Mana and Mahad told him about their parents' reactions.

"So your mother left you without supper for a whole month?"

Mana nodded at the prince's question. "Yep. She was so furious, it's surprising that's the only punishment she gave me. Still, I'm so hungry right now, I could eat an entire cow! I don't think I'll be able live through this for an entire month!" Mana rubbed her growling belly. Mahad scoffed at that as he rolled his eyes once more. (1)

"No doubt about that. You eat as if the entire world was running out of food."

Mana gave him an angry glare. "Do not!" Meanwhile Atem lowered his gaze in guilt for a moment, before a thought came to mind.

"Wait a minute." Both Mahad and Mana turned and eyed Atem curiously as the prince reach for his nightstand and grabbed the apple that stood right next to the lit torch, his jewelry, and his crown. He then handed the fruit to Mana. "Here you go Mana."

The little girl looked somewhat surprised before smiling excitedly and taking the fruit. "Thank you so much Temmy!" She then proceeded to munch down on the apple.

Atem smiled at hearing her happy mood, especially after hearing her call him by the nickname she gave him, since they were very small. As a toddler, it would be the only name she would call him by, since his mother use to call him that all the time, and throughout most of their childhood, she call him that more than his actual name, which would sometimes embarrass him in front of his male friends. Nowadays, she only calls him that when she was in an extremely good mood.

As Mana continued to enjoy her apple, Atem turned to Mahad, who was giggling at the scene. "So Mahad, what did your father say?" The older boy just shrugged.

"Well, TEMMY." Atem shot an irritated look at Mahad's teasing with his nickname, while the older boy chuckled some more before continuing. "Surprisingly he didn't get angry at me. On the contrary, he said that he was very proud that I had the courage to risk my own life to save you and Mana. But he also scolded at me for putting myself in such danger. As an overall, he wasn't angry at me, just worried, so he warned me to be more careful from now on."

Atem was rather surprised at this, but then again, why should he be? Mahad has always proven his loyalty to the pharaoh, himself, and the kingdom. The boy had proved himself countless time at how excellent he was in all classes, whether it was spell-casting, foreign martial arts, history, etc. Mahad was also always the one to follow the rules without question He has shown to be a very valuable element, which is precisely what this kingdom needs.

The prince smiled that at least Mahad didn't get into any trouble, since he was the only one who was completely innocent of his actions. Still, the fact that he had put his two best friends in danger and could have been hurt because of him still made him feel guilty.

"Oh, well I'm glad that at least you didn't suffer the consequences of what I did." His gaze lowered in guilt and sadness. Mahad and Mana, who had just finished eating her apple, looked at their friend in worry and concern.

"My prince, are you alright?"

"Yeah, Atem, why do you look so sad?"

The said prince faced them again, with a sorrowful expression. "Because it is my fault for putting both of you in danger. Something terrible could have happened to you because of me, and I honestly would have never forgiven myself if that happened."

His eyes then everted to side in shame. "If I hadn't been so reckless, none of you would have gotten in so much trouble. And Mana, you wouldn't have to skip supper because of me. I'm sorry. I know I'm such a terrible friend, and I probably don't deserve your forgiveness, but I really mean it from the heart. I'm sorry to both of you."

Both magicians-in-training looked at the prince, astonished at how deep and meaningful his apology had been. In all their years of knowing him, they had never seen him like this; full of guilt, regret, and sorrow. Both felt touched at how deeply he cared for their friendship.

Mahad was the first to break out of his trance and smile, while he crawled his way next to Atem as he wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

"My prince. There is no reason for you to ask for our forgiveness. We know that what you did was not for bad intentions. You simply acted out of impulse in order to prove what you already are. We know that you never intended for us to be in any danger. It was a mistake that anyone can easily make, especially when being a child. Think of this as a test in your life and that you can learn from it."

Mana too jumped into the conversation as she grabbed his hands, eager to make Atem feel better. "Yeah! I'm not mad at you Atem! I thought it was really cool how brave you acted back in that haunted village."

Atem looked down, feeling bashful, but also unworthy of their compliments. "No I wasn't. I was trying to be brave, but in reality, I was just getting myself into trouble." Mana scoffed incredulously.

"Are you kidding me?! You risked your life to save me! And the way you faced those two puny thieves, even though you were against their spirit monsters too, that still didn't stop you! You acted like a true hero out there Atem. You kept putting yourself in danger just to protect me!"

Mahad nodded in approval. "Mana is right prince. And I still haven't forgotten how you sucked the poison out of my arm, when that snake bit me. You saved me from the brink of death, even though you were putting your own life on the line. That is something that only a true pharaoh, a true king would act."

The prince was appalled at how his friends complimented and consoled him. Did they really think all that about him? Did they truly believe that he would make a great pharaoh?

"Do you guys really believe I can do it?"

Mahad and Mana nodded in agreement. "Of course! We've always believed in you Temmy."

"Just like you told me once in your very own words, when you become a great pharaoh, I will stand there by your side as your loyal servant and as one of your most trusted friends."

Atem felt like crying out of happiness at that very moment, though he held back his tears. He certainly was indeed gifted with what he had. Being born into a royal family, he practically had everything he could ever dream of. Apart from accommodations, riches, glory, power, a kingdom and the respect of his people which he will one day rule over, he also had a loving and caring family, who raised him into a happy child, loyal servants that willing stood by his side that will one day help him rule this kingdom, and the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for. His life felt a little too perfect, that he honestly could not ask for more.

The prince wrapped his own arm around Mahad's neck, while with his other arm, he pulled Mana into a group hug. "Thank you so much my friends! I honestly could not imagine my life without either of you in it. You both are the best and greatest friends anyone could ever have. Thank you for believing in me and forgiving me."

The other two kids smiled as they returned the hug with as much force. "Indeed my prince. And as I said before, there is nothing to be forgiven. Let us learn from this experience and move on from it." Mana and Atem nodded in agreement. As the three broke from the hug, Mana felt like lightening the mood again.

"Besides, you can't keep blaming yourself for everything, when we also were at fault of what happened. Me, for agreeing to go with you, knowing that I was getting into trouble, and Mahad over here for being too distracted with his future wife to notice us leave!"

Mahad blushed in anger and embarrassment. "Hey! For the 100th time, Isis is NOT my future wife!" Mana scoffed at that as she continued her teasing.

"So you're not going to admit that you've always liked her?!" The older boy stubbornly crossed his arms and gave out a huff.

"In front of you, no way!"

"Oh come on!"

Atem smiled at his friends as they continued to bicker. He knew that this was their way of showing that they care for one another. He does it all the time. He wonder if things would always stay like this? _I just hope when I become pharaoh, they don't change the way they are with me. Oh, who am I kidding?! They just said that they'll always be my friends! I never doubted their word and I am not starting now!_

"We must inform Pharaoh Aknamkanon, one of our prisoners has escaped!"

The sudden outburst broke the prince out of his thoughts and also caused Mana and Mahad to stop their bickering and freeze. The children then looked towards the balcony, which is where the sound had come from.

"What do you mean one of our prisoners has escaped? Weren't you both on guard duty at the dungeons?!

"Yes we were headed there. But then suddenly we both couldn't move. It's as if someone had cast a spell on us."

This caused Mahad to give Mana a stern look, who laughed nervously. The children then continued to listen in silence.

"Well. We'll figure that out later. Right now we must inform our pharaoh. You, go the Pharaoh Aknamkanon's chambers and alert him of this. And you, go to Prince Atem's chambers and see if he's alright. Once you've done that, have someone else guard his room and report back to me. If this thief happens to be the same one that attempted against the life of our prince, then we can't take the chance that he won't do it again. As for me, I will order a search party and make sure if the thief is still within the palace grounds. Go!"

The sounds of spears and fading footsteps could be heard, until the room was once again in silence. Mana was the first to panic.

"Oh no! We're doomed! If they catch us up here, we'll get in so much trouble!"

"So much for your brilliant plan! Your spell wore off, which obviously proves that you still need much more practice!"

Mana gave in irritated look, tired of Mahad's scolding. "Hey, at least I tried! And the fact that the spell lasted much longer than all the other times shows that I am getting better." Mahad rolled his eyes as he got off the prince's bed.

"Yeah, uh-huh. Let's just hurry up and get back to our rooms, before the guard gets here and finds us!" The boy then quickly ran outside the balcony, to have the rope ready to climb down.

Mana rolled her eyes back at the direction, where Mahad had left. She then sighed in frustration before looking back at Atem with a smile. "Well, I'm at least glad we got to see that you're alright Atem."

Atem smiled back. "Thank you so much Mana. I owe you so much, both you and Mahad. I'm glad to have you both as my friends." The little girl gave him a toothy smile, before giving out a surprised reaction.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Mana then looked into the small pocket on her dress, before taking out what it seemed to be a necklace. "This is for you."

She held out the necklace, now holding it by the tip of her fingers. Now that he got a closer look at it, he realized it was an amulet, the entire thing made out of gold. The amulet itself was shaped like the sun and in the middle of it was a red ruby. (2)

The prince was astonished by its beauty, not believing that Mana had gotten him something so priceless. He then turned to look at Mana in shock. "For me? But why?"

Mana smiled. "Just take as an early day of birth present. I was going to wait until the actual day, but after what happened yesterday, I feel like you needed it now more than ever. That way, you'll know that you'll never be alone."

The little apprentice then reach her hand under her shirt through her collar, before taking out another golden amulet, along with the thin, golden chain that was around her neck. She then held the amulet for Atem to see. It was similar to the one she gave him, except this one had a crescent moon-shape, and this one instead of a gem, it had a face carved onto it. He also noticed that around the necklace, little golden stars were spread and dangled along with the moon.

"You got one too?"

"M-hm," Mana nodded. "I was asking my mother on what to give you on your day of birth for a present. She gave me these and told me to give this one to you. She said that this is meant to represent the bond between us. And that if you ever feel alone, you'll have this to remember me by, in case we ever separated. So in a way, no matter how far away we are from one another, I will always be with you in spirit, and vice versa."

Atem looked at the amulet in his hand, staring at it in awe and so touched that Mana had shared such a sweet trinket with him. "Mana..."

"Oh, there's something else that mother mentioned." She then turned the amulet to its other side, which it was golden blank. She then turned her own amulet as well. "These amulets have a spell on them. She said that when our bond is truly solidified, a message is going to appear on the back of both our amulets. I honestly didn't get what she was trying to tell me and even asked her about it. All she said was that when I grow older I would understand."

Atem looked at both amulets in thought before coming up with a possible solution. "Maybe Layla meant that our bond is unbreakable. Mahad, you, and I have been best friends, since we were born and since then, we've been inseparable." Mana took a moment to think about it before nodding eagerly.

"Yep! You're probably right! It makes a lot more sense when you put it that way."

"Mana! Hurry up! I got the rope ready!" Mana quickly turned towards the balcony, where Mahad had called out to her.

"Coming!" She then quickly turned back to Atem. "Come on! Let me quickly put this on you!"

The prince nodded as Mana took back the amulet. He then turned around, his back now facing her. She unhooked the chain and quickly wrapped it around Atem's neck. She then hooked it back together and let the necklace fall loose, hanging around his neck. When Mana was finished, the royal son turned back at her, facing her once more. The small girl let out of gasp of happiness.

"It looks perfect on you Temmy!" Atem smiled at the girl's enthusiasm.

"Thank you Mana, such a wonderful birthday present. I really appreciate it." He then got off his bed and grabbed Mana's hand, pulling her off the bed as well. "Now come on! You have to go, before you get in trouble again!"

Both kids ran quickly until they were outside the balcony again. Mahad was nowhere in sight, but what they did see was the hook placed in the same spot as the rope ascended on the other side. Both children looked over the ledge and they saw Mahad already making it halfway down. He then looked up and gave an irritated groan.

"What took you so long?!"

"Um, well, I was... distracted."

The older boy shook his head in annoyance. "Alright. Just hurry up and start climbing down. The guard will be in the prince's room any minute." He then eyed Atem. "My prince, I am glad to see that you are alright, despite everything that happened yesterday. But just be careful and I recommend not leaving your room for your own safety. Especially if you're planning to sneak out. If Bakura really is the same thief that has recently escaped the dungeons, then you must not put yourself at risk tonight."

Atem's expression became serious as he nodded. "Don't worry Mahad. You have my word that I will do no such thing."

Satisfied and happy with the younger boy's answer, Mahad smiled. "Good to hear. Good night my friend. Mana hurry!"

Mahad returned to his previous task and continued to climb down. Meanwhile Atem helped Mana climb on top of the ledge, since she was having trouble doing it herself, due to her shortness. Once she was on top, Mana was ready to climb down, when she suddenly stopped and looked at Atem once more.

"Atem before I leave, can you do one little favor for me?"

"Yeah, sure."

Mana then held out her pinkie. "Promise me that no matter what happens, we'll always be best friends forever. Pink swear?" Atem looked dumbfounded for a moment, before smiling and hooked on her pinkie with his own as they shook it on.

"Pinkie swear!"

As they sealed their promise, Mana smiled satisfied of having completed her task. She then started to climb down the rope. Atem held onto the hook of the rope, just to make sure it didn't accidentally unhook itself. Once both his friends were finally at the bottom, he let go of the hook. Then he grabbed the hook and let it fall in a straight pattern, along with the rope. Once it hit the ground, he saw Mahad grab the rope and gather it in his arms, before he and Mana looked back up.

"Farewell, my prince. We shall see each other tomorrow in class." Atem nodded, while smiling. Mana also showed her farewell by waving goodbye.

"Good night Atem. Don't forget your promise!"

The prince nodded once more. "I won't. Good night my friends."

As Mahad and Mana finished waving, the young adolescent quickly cast an invisibility spell over himself and Mana, right before she even had chance to protest on doing it herself.

As they were out of sight, the prince smiled brightly, before hearing approaching footsteps at the door of his chambers. He quickly ran back inside his room. He immediately jumped on his bed and blew out his candle, hoping it didn't give out an earlier signs that he had been awake this whole time. Atem buried himself under his sheets, only leaving his wild-colored hair exposed, as to show that he was indeed in his room asleep.

As he held onto the sun amulet Mana just gave him, the sleep he had been lacking earlier suddenly was coming back to him. He didn't even notice when the guard came in to see if he was still here or even when he was gone, as the young prince fell into a deep sleep.

()()()()()()

 **Earlier...**

Aknadin finally stopped his running, where he was completely sure he was alone. At the moment, he had just realized that he was inside the temple of the stone carvings, where shadow creatures as well as the _Kas_ of the royal family and the sacred guardians resided inside stone tablets, only summoned when needed.

He had not intended to come here in the first place. He had just wanted to be away as far as possible from what he had just discovered, he paid no heed to precisely where he ran.

As Aknadin manage to catch his breath, he thoughts went back to the boy he had conversed just moments ago. _It can't be possible! My own son, Seto is alive and here at the palace?! But how can this be?! I thought he was killed?! But how did he survive and especially make it all the way here?! I abandoned him precisely because I didn't want him to pay for my mistakes!_

Indeed, Aknadin had a family, which he had abandoned around 11 years ago. The same time, where the Millennium Items were first created, and a year before the young prince had been born.

The creation of the Millennium Items was indeed a great opportunity of power in order the overcome the enemies that threatened the kingdom of Egypt. This is precisely why Pharaoh Aknamkanon had given his younger brother permission to create them. However, the pharaoh never imagined what precisely Aknadin needed and was going to use in order to create them. He knew he brother was too noble and kind-hearted to make the sacrifices that he had made in order to create the items and would have most definitely not allowed him to complete this task. This is why he knew that it was better that his brother remained unaware of this specific information.

This also led him to abandoning his own family in the process. It was probably one of the very few noble things he has ever done in his life. If his enemies were to somewhat connected to this information, managed to find out that he had been the one to create the items, he could not risk them coming after Seto as an act in revenge. The sacrifice was painful, but necessary so that they may never know they were related by blood.

Soon after, the items were put to use and the pharaoh, alongside his sacred guardians, including Shimon, who was Sacred Guardian of the Millennium Key before Shadi, had managed to vanquish their enemies and bring peace in Egypt. The people of Egypt of course, congratulated and praised the pharaoh for saving Egypt.

Aknadin was bitter and angry at this. That had not been the outcome he had expected out of this. He thought that by doing this, he could take advantage of his brother's nobility and make him finally see that he was superior to him and that it was he who should be pharaoh, thus believing he would step down from the throne and hand it over to him. But things did not turn out the way he had hoped.

So he went back to his first plan, which was to wait for his brother to die and he would be next in line. He cared about nothing else in this world.

The only people he had ever truly cared for were his love for a woman who was forbidden for him and his son Seto. While Aknadin's wife did serve as a great companion and a good mother, she had been nothing more than a vessel to him. The keeper of the Millennium Eye had wanted to have a son, even though he could never have one with the true love of his life, another reason why his hatred for his brother had increased after he became pharaoh.

Despite that out of many things he hated in his life, which were all centered around his brother, there was one thing that gave him great satisfaction. He had been able to have a son, a gift from the gods he thought his brother would never have. Aknamkanon and Nefertiti had married a year before Aknadin, yet he had managed to have Seto the following months. Meanwhile Aknamkanon and Nefertiti had struggled through 5 long years in order to conceive a child. It gave him a pleasurable feeling, along with triumph and satisfaction, every time he saw his brother's distressed face when the pharaoh thought no one was watching. During those years that passed by, everyone had given up on the idea of a new heir and thought the day would never come. Aknadin thought that the gods were finally being considerate of him. He had been sure that the crown would be his.

But then it happened. Nefertiti was finally able to conceive a child; a son. How it was discovered though was an event that still left everyone in awe, even Aknadin. During a court meeting, Iseret, the mother of Isis and holder of the Millennium Necklace, had claimed that her Millennium Necklace had shown her a vision of the future. The vision she described was an image of a young man, with wild, tri-colored hair, deep purple eyes, and was dressed in royal Egyptian clothing, along with a majestic blue cape, was in front of the main balcony, smiling as people cheered for him and referred to him as "pharaoh".

At the same time, as everyone was trying process the information Iseret had given them, Queen Nefertiti had fainted in the middle of the scene. This alarmed everyone, especially the pharaoh and his brother, as they feared the worst. She had been taken to the healing room to see what was it that had caused her to pass out. To everyone's surprise and happiness, she was pregnant.

The news spread like a wildfire, first with everyone inside the palace, then in Cairo, and eventually all over Egypt. Everyone cheered and celebrated as they were just as happy as their king and queen that the gods are finally blessing them with a new heir.

Aknadin, of course, was the only one who was completely unhappy of this occasion. He was absolutely livid. Now, how was he supposed to become pharaoh if that brat had stolen _his_ throne. Eventually the months had passed by, and his anger had finally died down, even after Prince Atem had been born. However, the hatred within him that was especially reserved for his brother and nephew kept growing, since he no longer had hope of obtaining the throne.

 _But now, my son is here! And he's in front of me despite of abandoning him. He survived the destruction Ak-Tahiya and is now here at the palace, living under the same roof as I. It can't be just a coincidence. This must be a sign!_

The priest then looked up and in the middle of all the stone tablets, there were three specific carvings that caught his attention. They were the very carvings of the Egyptian Gods, in the form of monsters. These three legendary beasts were said to be the strongest of all the gods. Though it is unknown to everyone which of the many gods of Egypt are the ones that have taken these forms. Prophecy says that only the chosen king will be able to know the true names of these legendary beasts.

Aknadin looked at them with awe before something within him snapped. The man's eyes grew wide with greed and darkness, as a very perverse and evil smile appeared on his face. "Yes… it is a sign! All this time, the gods have been trying to tell me…"

He slowly walked away from the carvings and headed towards the entrance. "It is my destiny to take the throne! For me and for my son! Now I know exactly what I must do…."

The priest had finally made it outside the palace, when he noticed something that definitely intrigued him. From a distance he saw a man with white long hair. It didn't take long for him to realize it was Bakura, the same thief that attempted against the life of his nephew and who was brought here by the pharaoh. Not too long, a couple of horsemen appeared riding towards the gate where Bakura appeared to be waiting for them. They were all wearing black cloaks, so their faces couldn't be seen with the exception of their glowing red eyes. Conveniently they were all riding black horses which matched their clothing as if to camouflage within the night.

Once they reached Bakura, they broke the chains that were tied around his arms, freeing them. Most of them bowed, while one handed Bakura a red cloak.

This definitely intrigued Aknadin as he continued to watch. He knew Bakura was no ordinary thief, which was why he was so curious in finding out more about him. But never did he imagined him to be powerful enough to have escaped the dungeon so easily, and have servants. There was definitely more to this thief than meets the eye. Aknadin then continued to observe.

Bakura seemed to be talking to these mysterious group for a while, before they nodded their heads, which seemed to be as if they were agreeing on something. They then handed Bakura a horse, which he got on as the rest did. However, before he rode off, Bakura turned around and met with Aknadin's stare dead in the eye with a crazed smile.

This slightly surprised Aknadin as he could clearly see a very strong darkness within his eyes. It is a darkness that reflected his own. Bakura then turned and rod off into the night, his dark-cloaked minions riding behind him, as he laughed wickedly.

Once they were gone, Aknadin stood standing there in thought. _It's almost of if that thief wanted me to follow him._

He soon realized what this meant for him. This thief might be able to serve as reliable ally in order to obtain the throne. This might be his golden opportunity to put a brilliant plan in march and finally get rid of his brother and nephew for good.

He smirked and soon headed off to get his horse.

()()()()()()

Back in Kul Elna, Rex and Weevil were currently inside a broken building with no roof and was only illuminated by a campfire. They were currently putting bandages on their injuries. Both were grumbling and complaining on how they nearly had the prince and how that damn pharaoh had intervened.

Rex twirled his arm and massaged his bottom. "Damn that Pharaoh Aknak-whatever. I won't be able to sit for a week!"

Weevil grumbled, but also agreed.

"Yeah, we almost had that bratty prince. I can't believe our boss was captured! Now what are we gonna do?! How are we gonna survive without him?!"

Rex covered his ears at hearing Weevil's screeching. "I don't know; so would you stop yelling already?! Man I wish there was something we could do to get even!" Weevil once again agreed.

"Yeah, if it weren't for that pharaoh, his son, and his loonies, we would be running the entire place."

"I know right!? I still remember back when I was a kid, my family use to be filthy rich! We use to be very important nobles back then. Everyone respected me because I came from a well-known family. I had everything I ever wanted, including my own slaves!"

Rex sniffed and sighed miserably. "Same here. But then the word went the palace that we had slaves, which was banned by law years ago, and then the pharaoh gave the order to strip us of everything. Our nobility, our riches were all gone and we got banished here!"

Weevil growled angrily. "We also got banished because of that. Now look at us! We're practically at the bottom of the food chain! This sure stinks"

"Yeah." Both sighed in misery as they continued the bandage themselves and massage their sore areas. The area was filled with silence for a few moments, before Weevil smiled brightly as an idea came to mind.

"Hey! I know what will make us feel better! Why don't we crack jokes at one another? I've got some pretty good ones!" Rex rolled his eyes and groaned in annoyance.

"Ugh, no thank you! Your bug jokes suck so bad, that I'd rather jump off a cliff."

This made Weevil angry as he stood up in a defensive pose. "What did you say!?"

Rex got up and crossed his arms, while smirking and with his eyes closed. "You heard me. Your jokes are so bad, I bet anyone would rather choose death than spend half an hour listening to a terrible comedian like you."

Weevil's hands clenched into fists were shaking in anger, while anime ticks appeared on his head. "Why you little insect. I'll show who's a terrible comedian!"

At that, Weevil jumped onto Rex, who was caught by surprise. He then punched him, scratched him, and pulled his hair. But as soon as Rex was fully conscious at what just happened, he fought back with as much force. The two boys rolled onto the ground, hitting each other. They didn't realize that they had rolled themselves out of the building as well as the figure that hovered over them.

"How pathetic."

That voice familiar to both boys, made them freeze in their place, with Rex grabbing Weevil by the collar and his fist frozen in the air before he could punch Weevil. They both turned around slowly. They looked up and gasped as their eyes widened in surprise. In front of them was Bakura.

"It's no wonder you two have sunk so low. You both act like a bunch of mindless, filthy animals."

The boys completely dismissed his insults as their expression grew with happiness.

"Bakura!"

"Boss!"

"You're here!" They both exclaimed as they crawled back to their master and grabbing onto to Bakura's pants, while crying anime tears.

Bakura rolled his eyes before smirking. "Yes thank you for stating the obvious you fools."

Rex was the first to speak. "But how did you escape!? We thought you were a goner!"

"Well...," Bakura looked back to the dark-cloaked men behind him. "Let's just say that I'm not that easy to contain. And how I got here, if you imbeciles are also wondering, I had a couple of new friends help give me a ride."

Rex and Weevil finally noticed the dark figures behind Bakura and both shook in fear. This clearly disgusted Bakura. "Relax you fools. They are on our side. I swear, why do I even bother keeping you two around?"

Bakura then turned away from the frightened boys to the men behind him. "Anyhow, we should probably start working on our strategy to fight back." As they all agreed, one of the cloaked figures approached Bakura. "Of course master. But I just want to be completely confident, that you are completely certain and thought through the proposition we made to you days ago."

This only seemed to piss off Bakura even more as he groaned in annoyance. "Of course I thought it through! And I already told you my answer earlier. I will help you in your quest to revive your master, only if you help me obtain my revenge on the royal family."

The men seemed to be completely convinced at this, which caused Bakura to calm down a bit. "Now we must think of a plan in order to obtain what we desire."

"Perhaps I can help you succeed in your plans."

Everyone turned to the new voice that broke into the conversation. Who they saw was Aknadin, who was currently getting off his horse. For the first few seconds, everyone, with the exception of Bakura, wondered who this strange man was. But then Rex noticed his Millennium Eye and gasped in fear.

"Oh no! He's one of the pharaoh's sacred guardians! Look, he has one of those items with him!" He pointed towards Aknadin's eye, before cowering behind Bakura, with Weevil following along. This also caused the cloaked men to unsheathe their swords. Bakura was the first to step up, smiling calmly as if he knew this would happen.

"So old man. You did show up after all." This caused everyone to look back at him in shock as he continued. "I was able to sense a very strong darkness within your heart. But what intrigued me the most is that they were all centered on the pharaoh, who if I'm not mistaken is also your brother. What I don't understand is what is it that caused to have such negative feeling for your own blood?"

Aknadin gritted his teeth in anger as his hands clenched into fists. "Because my brother has stolen everything from me! He has the throne that was supposed to be mine! I should have been pharaoh, not him! And he also took from me the only person I have ever truly cared about! To make matters worse, he had to have that wretched nephew of mine, which serves to remind me what he took from me and what I would never have... until now that is."

As everyone stood still at listening to Aknadin's reasoning, the cloaked men had sheathed their swords. Bakura was definitely interested now. Not only did this old man have a darkness that seemed to almost equal to his, but they also shared their source of hatred.

"I see, so tell me old man. What do you have in mind?" Aknadin gave a twisted smile before answering.

"We must first eliminate the source. Which means that we must kill the pharaoh, along with his son."

Bakura looked skeptical for a moment. "And how will this benefit all of us in any way?"

Aknadin continued with his plan. "Simple. The death of the man who slaughtered your village, which is the very same village we are standing in, should be enough to satisfy you." While Bakura became furious at the reminder, the cloaked men simply stared at the scene, while Rex and Weevil looked at each other in shock.

"And not only that, Aknamkanon will forever damn himself in the underworld for not being able to save his son, thus making him believe that his death was in vain."

Bakura seemed confused at this. "Save his son? What do you mean by that?" Aknadin waved his hand, dismissing the question for the moment.

"It something we will have time to discuss later. Right now, the point is that we must kill the pharaoh and the prince as well, so that the lands of Egypt will be free for us to rule."

Both Rex and Weevil smiled at this. With no king to rule or prince to inherit the throne, they would be free to do as they please.

"No king? No king! No king! Lalalalalala!" They soon danced around happily, repeating the song over and over again. This clearly seemed to anger Aknadin as his face grew livid, ready to explode.

"IDIOTS! THERE WILL BE A KING!"

Both boys stopped dancing and jumped into each other's, completely terrified of Aknadin's outburst. Rex took some courage in order to ask a question.

"B-but you said that-"

"I will be king! I will be the new pharaoh of Egypt! And if you stand by my side, none of you will ever go hungry again!"

This seemed to break the shorter thieves out of their fear as they cheered for their new "king". Aknadin then turned to Bakura. "As for you, Bakura, or better yet, I should call you Thief King, since from what little information my brother seemed to obtain from you, you are an expert at robbing tombs of pharaohs. Anyhow, join my side and I will give you higher authority in Egypt than even that of the sacred guardians themselves. I assume that should be more than enough to complete your revenge. You will authority to run the kingdom of the very man that took everything dear from you. That sounds like a satisfying revenge to me."

The priest finally turned to the dark cloaked figures. "Also, your new servants wish to unlock their master. And it seems you are very keen in helping them. If you all join me, I will help you revive your master into this world. And with his forces combined to ours, we will able to rule this country with an iron fist! No one would ever be able to stand in our way!"

This made Rex and Weevil cheer for Aknadin even more as the cloaked men seemed to agree in joining Aknadin. Bakura, however, was still in thought of everything the priest seemed to be offering him. But he came to the conclusion that this was major opportunity for him to finally have what he had always desired. Besides, he had nothing to lose, yet so much more to gain than he had hoped for. After a few moments in thought, Bakura finally smirked and nodded as well.

"Alright old man. I agree to this alliance as long as you keep your word in everything you are promising to give us. And I suggest you don't attempt to betray this alliance we have, otherwise you will definitely rue the day you ever crossed paths me!"

Aknadin only smiled at his threat. "Do not worry. I have no intention in betraying you. It wouldn't be convenient for what I hope to achieve. And once I put my impeccable plan into action, let them be prepared, because the dawn of a new pharaoh is soon to arrive!"

* * *

 **(1) Back then, not just in Egypt, but pretty much almost everywhere, parents use to take away supper as a way to punish their children if they ever behaved bad. Even today, many families still do it, but it's just not as common as it use to be. This scene, however, was inspired by this Spanish movie called Pan's Labyrinth. It was when the little girl, Ofelia, whose the main character of the story dirtied her dress by accident when she was suppose to wear it during this important dinner her stepfather was having. Her mother ended up punishing her by not letting have supper. For those who haven't watched the movie, I recommend watching it. It's a really good movie and I really loved it!**

 **(2) I actually had to look up in Google in order to get an idea of how these amulets should look like. But I still managed to alter them a bit. The real pendants are actually made out of plain silver, not gold like it was described in the story. But since Ancient Egyptians used a lot of gold, I thought it would be more fitting to make them gold. If you guys wanted to see what they really look like, write it on your review or message me.**

 **Anyways, I'm glad to be finally done with this chapter. It took me almost a month to finish. I told you guys I was gonna have by every other holiday and I am a woman of my word. This is my Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! Until the next time, because things are going to get a little more intense in the story!**


	6. Chapter 6: Death! A Dark Reign Begins!

**Wow! This chapter came out earlier than I expected. But hey! At least as a Christmas present, I won't have to give you such a sad and disturbing chapter. That way, I can prepare writing a more happy and light-warming chapter, which is more fit for the upcoming holidays. And yes, people the moment you've all been waiting for... one of the most impacting and heartbreaking scenes in the Lion King has arrived.**

 **Only fair to warn you, this is where the T-rating kicks in as it will contain a lot of deaths, gore(nothing too detailed, otherwise I would have to change the rating to M), and violence. In other words, it will be much more disturbing than it was in The Lion King. For those of you who can't stand to see this stuff, I suggest you don't read the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Yu-Gi-OH**_ **or** _ **The Lion King.**_ **All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures**

* * *

Chapter 6: Death! A Dark Reign Begins!

It had been six days, since the incident with Prince Atem and his friends being attacked in Kul Elna, only to be rescued by Pharaoh Aknamkanon had occurred. By this time, the young prince had managed to help his friend Mana, by convincing Layla to remove or at least reduce her daughter's punishment, claiming that all the fault and responsibility was his. The female master magician thought through with the young prince's petition, before finally appealing. She then decided that Mana's punishment would be cut in half, leaving her only one more week and a day from now that she would have to endure without supper. The little apprentice had been thankful with Atem, which he brushed off and claimed it was the least he could do for her.

Despite the happiness he felt at being able to somewhat atone for his mistakes, he still wished he could do more in order to prove himself and fix every single one of his mistakes, but felt helpless at what else to do. Aknadin saw the little dilemma that his young nephew was going through and decided that taking advantage of this situation might benefit in his plans with the Thief King and his minions.

Aknadin had approached Atem the other day and told him that they were to travel to a small desert town called Balat, which was not too far from the main city. He had claimed to the young prince that this was at the request of his father and that he had a surprise awaiting him and that it was a perfect chance for Atem to prove himself to his father. Being the naïve child he was, Atem eagerly agreed to join his uncle on this small quest. It was his uncle after all who was taking him and stated that his father had planned this little arrangement. There was no reason for him not to believe him. Little did the young prince know that he father wasn't the one behind this little arrangement. The man didn't even know that Aknadin had taken his son outside the palace and neither did he nor Atem knew what Aknadin really had in store for them.

The priest and the prince had traveled to the village of Balat, which was nearly hidden by a near 50 meter deep gorge. The villagers that inhabited there were a small clan of natives. Their village was very small, being nothing more than tents and wooden cabins. The village was mainly used as a source material for travelers to resupply. The clan were a kind and peaceful people.

Both of them had already reached the village, where Aknadin left his horse. Atem had wanted to bring his own horse, but his uncle insisted that it wasn't necessary, since he was there and it would only trouble them to bring "extra weight". The prince had been reluctant at first, since he loved riding his horse and bringing him along was never any trouble for him. But after some thinking, he finally gave in, thinking his uncle knew best.

The priest then lead the young prince outside but not too far away from the small village and prompted him to sit on a giant rock, with a small tree behind it.

"Now you wait here. Your father has a marvelous surprise for you." This got the young prince to glow with excitement.

"Ooooo, what is it?"

Aknadin looked at him knowingly. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it?" The prince gave a cheeky smile.

"If you tell me, I'll still act surprised." Aknadin couldn't help but chuckle at his nephew's attempts at trying to be sly.

"Ha, ha. You are such a naughty boy."

Desperate to know what this big surprise was, Atem gave his usual puppy dog eyes as his last resort, as he held onto Aknadin's robes.

"Please uncle Aknadin."

The priest softly pushed Atem away from him and shook his head, putting his foot down.

"No, no, no, no, no! This is just for you and your papa. You know, a father-son... thing."

Aknadin the turned to leave. "Well, I better go get him!" But as soon as he began to leave, the young prince also began to follow.

"I'll go with you!"

At this, Aknadin stopped and quickly turned back to his nephew, stopping him in his tracks.

"No!" This made Atem slightly jump, somewhat surprised at his uncle's reaction. Aknadin saw this and quickly calmed down his composure. He then laughed nervously and prompted Atem back onto the rock. "No. You just sit on this rock and wait here. Now we wouldn't want you to get in trouble like you did back in Kul Elna."

The prince gasped in shock. "What!? You know about that?"

"Atem everyone knows about that." This made the prince wallow his head in shame. "Really?"

The priest nodded knowingly. "Oh yes. Luckily you father was there to save from the hands of that dreadful thief."

With the topic being brought up, Atem quickly raised his head in question. "Oh yeah. Whatever did happen to Bakura anyway? Did father managed find out where he might have escaped to?"

The priest shook his head negatively. "Unfortunately no. Your father had sent a search party at Kul Elna, with Shadi heading the expedition. They searched that place high and low, but didn't find a trace of him. However, your father insists on continuing to search for this thief, claiming he is too dangerous to be let loose. Just this morning, he left on an errand to interrogate some witnesses. After he is done, he shall be here pretty soon."

Atem looked up for a moment with determination. "Oh. I wish I would have went with him. I could have helped somehow."

Aknadin wanted to roll his eyes and scoff at his nephew's determination, but instead feigned an expression of encouragement. "Not to worry with that, my dear nephew. With this surprise your father has in stored for you, you will finally have the opportunity to prove to him your true potential."

This seemed to brighten the boy's mood as he nodded eagerly. Aknadin then rapped an arm around his nephew's shoulders and moved in closer, lowering his voice into a whispering tone. "Oh and just between us, this might be a great chance on practicing your magic. I've been hearing from your father that you are getting better."

The boy looked confused, not really seeing the point to this, but agreed to his uncle's request anyway. "Oh, okay."

Aknadin tried to leave once more when the young prince interrupted him. "Hey Uncle Aknadin, will I like the surprise?"

The sacred guardian only looked slightly back at Atem's hopeful expression, before smiling a twisted smile.

"Oh Atem, it's to die for!" With that, he left back to small village to get his horse.

()()()()()()

At the top of the gorge, nearby were the ruins of a temple, which was nothing more than a broken wall made of stone. Behind that wall, Bakura, the dark-cloaked men, and Rex and Weevil were on their horses looking outward towards the gorge as if waiting for something. Bakura also was the only one who was carrying a stone tablet with a monster carving, tied to his horse. After a while of silence, Rex was the first to break the silence, already growing impatient.

"Argh! What's taking that priest so long? I'm tired of waiting! Can't we at least just wait somewhere that actually has shade?! I'm burning up here!" Weevil rolled his eyes at his companion.

"And here I thought you'd be more resistant to the heat, dinosaurs being your specialty because of your spirit monster. I'm overheating here too, but you don't see me complaining you pea-brain."

This made Rex twitch in anger. "Pea-brain!? I'm not a pea-brain, I'm a dinosa-"

"Silence you fools!"

Bakura's outburst caused both minor thieves to shut their mouths in silence.

"We are to wait here, until Aknadin gives us the signal."

Following that, they also noticed the figure of a horsemen emerging from the other side of gorge. It didn't take long for the group to realize that it was Aknadin.

"There he is." Bakura then gave a dark smile. "Let's go."

()()()()()()

Back within the gorge, the young prince was sitting on a rock, irritated at having to wait here, without being able to do anything. At least he had shade from the small tree behind the stone, otherwise this horrible heat would have overcome him. Atem huffed, getting bored of this place. Desperate to find a way to entertain himself, while his father and uncle arrive, he decided to take Aknadin's advice and practice his magic a bit.

The prince then stood up and put his hands in a triangular shape pose. He then closed his eyes and began to chant. _I know that if I concentrate hard enough, I'll be able to connect with my ka and summon it. I just have to concentrate hard enough._

The golden eye on his crown began to glow as Atem used all is energy to try tap deep into his soul, along with the shadow powers he inherited from the royal bloodline. _Yes I'm doing it! I'm really doing- what? What's that noise?_

The prince was broken out of his concentration as a loud, trembling noise was heard from the distance, getting louder. The glowing light on his crown died down as the prince opened his eyes, feeling so tense all of a sudden. He knew something was wrong.

As the noise grew louder, he felt the earth begin to shake and tremble. Atem then looked towards the ground, noticing the rocks move and crackle. He then looked up at the top of the gorge, which was the source of the growing noise.

So now after, a huge herd of some animals, which he couldn't identify what they were, came running down widely on the slider side of the gorge.

Atem felt his blood stop running, as he froze in fear and shock at what he was seeing. As the herd of the unknown animals came closer down, he gasped and made his blood run cold. The animals were nothing more than a bunch of skeletons, which seems to be of elephants. (1)

He also noticed that among the herd of undead elephants, there seemed be a couple of horsemen, dressed in dark cloaks riding along. Even thought their faces weren't shown, their red eyes glowed with such bloodlust, that it made a shiver run down his spine.

When the deadly herd finally reached the ground and were only a few feet away from reaching him, the prince finally snapped out of his state of shock and turned to the opposite direction, running as fast as he could. At the moment, all he could think of was to survive. As he continued to run, he could already see the small village ahead. His eyes widened in worry as he realized that the herd was also heading towards Balat.

Getting closer to the village, he noticed the villagers all looking towards his direction curiously, who must have felt the earth tremble. With all his might, Atem screamed at the top of his lungs.

"RUN! THERE'S A STAMPEDE BEHIND ME!"

Some villagers were confused, before a woman looked behind him and screamed in terror. The rest of the villagers too gasped in shock before they began to scream and run for their lives.

Just before Atem could even reach the village, the stampede had already reached him and ran past him. The undead animals also ran through the village, stepping on tents and breaking the cabins with their tusks. Atem kept dodging before the undead elephants could step on him, while he running around, looking for somewhere high and safe. People kept running around him in terror, pushing him aside.

Despite all this, Atem noticed a dangling branch in the middle of the herd. Realizing it was his only chance at reaching safety, the boy immediately ran towards and desperately began to climb. Finally, he reached the thin, top part where the elephant skeletons couldn't step on him. But judging by how it dangled, he knew that the branch was fragile and wouldn't be able to hold his weight forever, especially with the massive force of the stampede hitting it.

Knowing there wasn't anything he could do, the prince looked around the already destroyed the village to see if the villagers were at least able to get away. But what he saw, horrified him to the very core.

The surviving villagers at the moment, were being slaughtered in cold blood right in front of him by the same dark-cloaked horsemen he previously saw running down among the undead herd. They were currently slicing all the surviving villagers that hadn't been stomped on by the herd, regardless if they were men, women, children, or the elderly. Some were decapitated, others had their limbs dismembered, and others were stabbed repeatedly until they died. A few of them that tried to get away on their horses, arrows were shot towards their animals, causing the horses to drop their riders. They, along with others who tried to escape death at the hands of these mysterious, malevolent beings were pushed to the ground only to be smashed underneath the herd.

Atem felt sick to his stomach at witnessing the bloodshed happen right before his eyes, especially when seeing that children around his age or younger were be slaughtered without mercy. He had never seen something so dark and grotesque in his entire life. It was something that he was certain he would never forget and would haunt him in his dreams for the rest of his life. He didn't understand why these monsters would do something so horrible to these innocent people. They had done nothing wrong, so why? Atem felt rage and hatred grow towards the dark-cloaked horsemen, but also pain and sorrow for the innocent villagers. He wished he could help them. He wished he could fight back those despicable demons and make justice for the deceased clan. But deep down, Atem knew he couldn't do anything to save them. He was only a child and was completely outnumbered and outmatched in every way.

With all the pain in his heart, the young prince closed his eyes and turned away from the scene, as tears began to form at the edge of his eyes. Right now all Atem wanted was his father to be with him. _Father, where are you!? Please help me dad! I need you!_

()()()()()()

Elsewhere, Pharaoh Aknamkanon was currently traveling precisely towards the gorge where the village of Balat resided, along with Mahad next to him. They had been going from village to village and see if they can gather any information revolving around the Thief King from civilians. They were currently headed towards their next destination when suddenly, the pharaoh felt an impulse come from his Millennium Puzzle and hit him very deep in his heart.

 _Father help me!_

Aknamkanon held onto his puzzle and robe, while his eyes widened in shock.

 _Atem!?_

The king was appalled beyond belief. Either he was hallucinating or he could have sworn he just heard his son's voice calling out to him for help. And now he felt a heavy pressure in his chest that wouldn't leave him alone. _Is the puzzle trying to tell me that my son is indeed in trouble?_

"My pharaoh? Is something troubling you sire?" Mahad had noticed the king's current state and had gotten worried. Aknamkanon didn't know what to answer, since he wasn't sure himself. "I don't-"

"PHARAOH!" They were both interrupted by someone calling out to the king and looked to see the horseman coming towards them. As he got closer, they realized it was Aknadin heading towards them. The said man immediately stopped his horse in front of them as his expression seemed to be one of anguish.

"Aknamkanon! Stampede! There's a stampede of shadow monsters at the gorge! It's destroyed the village of Balat! And Atem's down there!"

This made the pharaoh gasp in anguish, as he felt fear and terror for the life of his child. His eyes widened like giant plates. "Atem!?" His Millennium Puzzle, along with his father's intuition had been right! The king immediately grabbed the reigns of his own horse and took off with high speed, hoping he would make it on time to save his son, with Aknadin and Mahad following behind. However, nobody seemed to notice the priest narrow his eyes darkly as a smirk was plastered on his face.

()()()()()()

Atem was currently holding onto the branch, hoping that the branch would hang on a little longer, until the stampede was over. He also prayed to the gods that none of the dark-cloaked figures notice him among the herd. Most had already left the scene, while very few stayed and destroyed whatever had remained of the ruined village.

()()()()()()

All three nobles had finally made it the gorge, as they noticed below them the massive herd of undead animals. Both the pharaoh and Mahad were shocked at what they were seeing.

"Shadow creatures?! But how is this possible?! Especially being that they all the same?!" Mahad had studied magic all his life, even the highest and most dangerous spells, known to magic, witchcraft, and wizardry, yet he has never encountered something like this

"I don't know Mahad, but right now, the most important thing is to look for my son!" Realizing the king was right, Mahad nodded with determination and used his magic to trace the essence of the prince's power. Once he found it, he looked around, tracing to where the power was coming from.

His eyes landed on a dangling branch, as he spotted a small figure hanging onto it for dear life. Also noticing the wild-colored hair, Mahad immediately knew that they had found the prince. "Sire look! There he is on that tree!"

Mahad pointed towards the prince and Aknamkanon followed to where he was pointing at, until his eyes landed on his son. The pharaoh gasped as the prince was nearly pushed off the branch and screamed in fear.

"Ahh!"

"Hold on Atem!"

Atem could barely hear him as he was more focused on trying to stay put on the nearly broken branch. Pharaoh Aknamkanon immediately rode his horse on the side of the gorge and closer into the stampede.

Witnessing the rampage before his eyes, Mahad began to panic, desperately trying to think of solutions. "Aknadin what are suppose to do?! Wait, that's it!? I can send Horus back to the palace and call for help! That's exactly what I will do."

The young boy then called out to his bird. Soon enough, Horus was seen at the very distance, flying towards their way. Mahad smiled with relief as he looked back at Aknadin for a moment, not noticing the sour expression on his face, before turning back to his hawk.

"Alright Aknadin. Now that we've found a solution, all we have to do is-" Mahad didn't get to finish as he felt a huge pressure hit him behind his neck. The painful impact soon caused the young adolescent to lose consciousness, until he was completely knocked out. Before his limp form fell off his horse, Aknadin grabbed him by the robes.

"You have gotten in my way for the last time brat!" Aknadin sneered before roughly throwing Mahad to the ground, leaving his unconscious body there. He then reached for Mahad's bow tied on his back. The priest smiled wickedly before taking out a dagger. He then put the dagger with the bow, using it as an arrow replacement before aiming towards the sky. Once he had managed to aim his target, Horus, the priest then released his dagger, as it shot directly towards the hawk, stabbing it and killing it.

Horus gave out a dying screech before falling out of the sky.

 **Meanwhile...**

The prince had nearly fallen off the branch again from yet another impact from the stampede. The prince desperately climbed back onto the branch, scared to death.

Aknamkanon wasn't too far away from where his son was and fought through the herd, even though his horse was beginning to panic.

Unknown to either of them, one of the dark-cloaked horsemen still remained as he had spotted Atem dangling on the tree. His eyes narrowed gleefully as he took out his dagger and proceeded to head towards the prince. Once he reached Atem, as quick as light can go, the man sliced off the bottom of the branch, before running back into the herd. The branch was then hit by the wild stampede before being sent flying in the air, along with the boy, while he screamed.

The pharaoh had caught sight of the prince in mid air, screaming. He gritted his teeth, before holding the reigns of his horse, forcing him to jump as high in the air as possible. The king had managed to catch his son with just one arm in the nick of time. The horse then roughly landed on the ground and back into the herd, before riding off.

The prince felt the arm protectively hold him in place as he turned around to look at his rescuer. His eyes widened in shock, but were filled with hope. _Father! You're here!_

The pharaoh didn't notice his son's admirable stare as he was desperately fighting through the stampede and trying to reach safety.

Meanwhile, Aknadin on the ledge at the side of the gorge was watching them curiously as he wanted to see with his own eyes the painful experience the father-son duo were going through before they died.

Aknamkanon was still trying to ride through the herd, when suddenly, one of the skeleton shadow monsters ran directly into the pharaoh's horse. The impact, along with the horse shrieking wildly in pain, was enough for him to fall off his horse and into the herd. At the same time, the prince was knocked out of his father's grasp, separating them and falling into the herd as well. The horse was then knocked onto ground and killed instantly by the continuous stampede.

Without the pharaoh's knowledge, during the impact, the Millennium Puzzle was ripped off the his neck by one of the undead animal's tusks. The Millennium Item then hit the ground, causing it to break into dozens of pieces, spreading all over the place.

The fallen king managed to get off the ground quickly, despite being injured, and was desperately looking for the small prince. It wasn't long before he managed to spot Atem among the herd and ran towards him.

Atem was currently sitting still, while curling in fear and terror at the giant stampede above him, afraid he might get stepped on. Within the upcoming herd, he saw his father leap down and grab the young boy once more, before carrying him over his shoulder. The pharaoh's clothes were already torn, with bloody injuries all over his arms, legs, chest, and forehead. But despite his pain, Aknamkanon kept running against the herd as he desperately looked around so he could at least get his son into a safe spot.

Noticing a small cliff right above, yet still unreachable to the herd, the pharaoh leaped with all his strength, despite the protests of his injured body, and to get his upper half on the very edge of the ledge. Aknamkanon then placed his son gently onto the inner part of the ledge, making sure he was completely out of danger.

Atem looked astonished at his father's bravery and devotion to protect him. However, before the prince could even react, the running herd caught onto the pharaoh's legs and pull him back into the stampede. The already injured king landed roughly onto the ground.

"Dad!" Atem was terrified as he saw his father disappear into the herd. Atem looked desperately into the stampede, hoping to find his father alive. After a few moments of looking, to his surprise, the pharaoh had leaped out of the herd and landed onto to steep part of the gorge, which was across from the young prince. Despite seeing the pharaoh even more injured than he was before, Atem smiled that his father at least managed to make it alive out of there. He also noticed how the king was starting to climb upwards in an attempt to escape the herd.

Atem immediately began to climb up as well, determined to find somewhere where he can help pull his father back into safety.

At the same time, the pharaoh continuously climbed and climbed, until he saw another ledge above him. Ignoring his bloodied wound, he was climbing closer, until he noticed Aknadin at the very top, looking down at him, with a sadistic yet passive expression on his face. He seemed almost to be enjoying the situation his brother was in.

The pharaoh was able to reach the top, but was unable to pull himself up. His fingers hooked onto the very edge as his feet were slipping off. He was trapped. The only person he could rely on now to save him was his brother.

"Aknadin!" He screamed out and Aknadin came to closer to where he was, which gave him hope. "Brother, help me!"

The pharaoh was already reaching his limit to how long he could hold on and only begged that Aknadin would hurry up faster.

But when he looked back up, he noticed something in his brother's eyes. They were full darkness, that mixed with hatred and satisfaction. Soon after, Aknadin's face change from passive to psychotic as he stepped on his brother's hands. Aknamkanon groaned loudly in pain as the priest knelt down and leaned closer into his older brother's face, his eyes wild with ambition.

"Long live the pharaoh."

The pharaoh's eyes widened in shock and terror as he finally realized the situation: his brother had betrayed him! With final words being said, Aknadin grabbed his brother's hands, unhooked them, and then pushing him off the edge, causing him to fall towards his death.

"AHHHH!" Hearing his father's scream, Atem stopped climbing and turned around immediately. His eyes widened as he saw the pharaoh's body fall from high up and into the stampede as he screamed.

"NOOOOO!" Atem was horrified at seeing he father fall into the pit of skeletons, as he was unable to do anything to save him. He felt his heart beating so hard, that he felt it was about pop out of his chest. But he knew that all he could now was wait until the stampede finally cleared through.

 **Moments Later...**

The stampede finally came to an end as the herd of skeletons had finally moved on. The prince took this chance to finally climb back down into the gorge, trying to look through the dusty fog. Atem kept walking and looking around for his father. Passing by, he saw the mutilated corpses of the villagers spread all over the land into a major bloodbath. Some of them weren't even recognizable anymore.

The child's eyes widened in fear as a shiver ran down his spine, while he felt sick to his stomach and held back the urge to puke. A part of him wanting to leave this place. But then Atem closed his eyes and shook those thoughts out of his head, as he continued to look for his father within the dust. As he got farther from the destroyed village, he noticed a fallen form up ahead, all alone. It was the only form that seemed to still look human.

As Atem got closer, he immediately recognized the tattered, but royal clothing.

"Father?"

Atem continued to walk towards the fallen king as he feared of what he was about to see. With his eyes wide, the prince walked toward the pharaoh's front side and his jaw dropped open. Aknamkanon lay on the ground, still and bleeding, while his eyes were closed.

The prince was finally able to confirm what he had feared to find out: Pharaoh Aknamkanon was dead. Atem felt his heart beginning to crack, unable to accept the truth. _No! My father can't be dead! He can't be! He's probably just knocked out! Dad has to be alive!_

Desperately hoping for a miracle, Atem knelt towards his father and pulled his robes. "Father, please. You have to get up."

His voice was small, but desperate. Seeing no reaction from the king, Atem insisted on trying again. "Dad, please get up, so we can go home." Atem continued to pull on his robes, but the limp form of his father would not budge.

Seeing no use in trying, the prince finally stopped. He then turned to the open space desperately trying to find a way to save his father.

"Help!" He called out anxiously. "Somebody! Anybody!" There was no answer, with the exception of his own echoing voice. Having lost all hope, the tears he had been holding in finally fell on his cheeks, as Atem broke down crying. "Please... help..."

He cried and sobbed, knowing it was useless to call out to anyone. He now fully realized that his father was indeed dead and there was no one there to help him.

Guilty and heartbroken, the young prince knelt down again and wiggled under his father's limp arm. He then rapped his little arms around Aknamkanon's chest and hugged him, while crying into his robes.

He had stayed there for a while, just crying and deeply praying that this was all a nightmare and that anytime, he would wake up in his bedroom, where his parents would usually console him, when he had nightmares. Too busy drowning in his own sorrow, Atem failed to notice his uncle appear from the dust and come closer to where he was.

Aknadin stared at Atem's broken figure. He almost pitied the poor thing, but as an overall, he felt great pleasure in seeing his older brother dead and his nephew at his mercy. Now there was only one thing left to do. He came closer to Atem, putting on a serious expression.

"Atem." The prince slowly turned back to Aknadin with a teary, heart-broken face. He noticed his uncle was looking down sternly at him.

"What have you done?"

The prince removed himself from his father's arm as he tried his best to explain the situation through his shaky, stuttering voice. "F-father, tri-tried to save me. The s-stampede. A-and these men in black, the-they killed everyone. A-and dad he-he... Oh I didn't mean for any of this happen!"

Aknadin softy pushed his nephew into a hug, as the small child hugged his robes for comfort. "Oh of course! Of course you didn't, my dear nephew. No one, ever means for these things to happen..."

His expression then turned sinister, though the young prince didn't notice. "But the pharaoh is dead."

Atem slowly looked up at his uncle after hearing him say that. Aknadin looked back down at him with a look of pity. "If it weren't for you he'd still be alive."

The prince stayed silent as he felt the guilt and sorrow within grow even more. Aknadin then continued.

"I'm afraid to tell you this Atem, but those powers of yours are evil, which makes you evil. You were the one who called out those monsters and brought out those servants of the dark, who killed those poor villagers. It breaks my heart to be the one to tell you this, but you must know the truth. Unfortunately, you are threat to the the people of Egypt and the throne. Your father's death is proof enough. Oh, what would your mother think of this?"

Atem panicked, not wanting to even think of how his mother would react if she found out he killed his own father. He would not be able to stand and see the look of sadness, disappointment, and grief with her eyes. He also did not want to hurt anyone else, especially if they were important to him, much less have them end up like his father or any of the villagers of Balat. Not wanting to be a threat to anyone again, he looked at his uncle for advice.

"What am I suppose to do?" Knowing this was the perfect chance to rid of his nephew for good, he gave Atem a serious look.

"Runaway Atem," he said sternly as the young boy's eyes widened. "Runaway and never return."

Seeing it as his only option, the prince ran to opposite direction to where the stampede had taken off. Aknadin had watched him run, until the prince was at a very far distance and disappeared from his sight. At the same time, Bakura, along with Rex and Weevil appeared out of the dust and behind Aknadin. They were all smiling evilly as Aknadin's expression turned cold.

"Kill him." The two words, cold and lack of emotion, were enough to send the 3 thieves running after the prince.

At the same time, the young prince had come to a dead end and looked around if there were any openings to escape this place.

"Well, well. We meet again prince." This caused Atem to immediately turn around and come face to face with Bakura. The prince could not believe he was seeing Bakura again, the same thief that had attempted to kill him before, escaped the dungeons of his palace, and disappeared into thin air. He honestly thought he would never see him again.

The said thief currently had his fingers against his forehead. Behind him, Rex and Weevil were looking at him viciously as well as their spirit monsters.

"However, this time I can guarantee that no one is coming to your rescue."

Atem immediately turned to his left and began to run for his life.

"After him!" He heard Bakura order as the two smaller thieves began to run after the prince. Atem continued to run until he noticed a pile of rocks that covered a pathways between two mountains. The pathway at the top seemed to reach the other side of the gorge. Seeing his only way to escape, the prince began to climb to pile of rocks, desperate to reach the top and make it to the other side, while the two thieves were hot on his tail.

Once Atem reached the top, he had accidentally tripped and started to roll down the other side of the steep mountain. While rolling down the mountain, he had reached a cliff and hit his head on it, knocking his golden crown off his head and left it dangling at the tip, as the prince fell off the cliff and into a pit of sharp black thorns.

The prince soon regained his composure as he quickly began to crawl beneath the thorns, through the small open spaces he had been able to fit through, due to his small size.

Meanwhile, Rex was on top of his two-headed king rex, while the creature was sliding down on rocky hill, unable to stop itself, despite his master's protests. "Argh! King-Rex stop!" Once they had reached the same cliff from which Atem had fallen off, the monster was barely able to stop itself at very edge of the cliff as Rex gritted his teeth in fear. Once he saw that his monster had managed to stop in time, Rex sighed in relief.

What he didn't expect was the fact that Weevil was right behind and landed his moth roughly next to his two-headed king rex, pushing both the monster and his master off the cliff and into the thorns. But the minute Rex hit the pit of thorns, the spirit monster evaporated into a red light before it hit the thorns and returned to Rex.

Weevil was currently looking over the cliff for his other companion, he just realized he had accidentally pushed over the cliff. "Um Rex?"

At that moment, Rex jumped out of the thorn pit, with a punch of thorns stuck on his butt, as he screamed in pain. "OW!"

Seeing how hilarious Rex looked in the position he was in, Weevil broke down and laughed his butt off, while rolling on the ground. Meanwhile, Rex was climbing up the small cliff, groaning in pain at the thorns stuck to his skin. "Ow! Oh! Ee! Ah!"

Weevil continued laugh at Rex. "Bwuahahaha! You should see the look on your face! Man that was hilarious. You were like 'ah', 'Ee', 'ah'!" Rex gritted his death as he growled at Weevil's mocking, before proceeding to carefully remove the thorns from his butt.

When he finally managed to calm down his laughing, Weevil looked out into the distance of the plain Sahara desert, where the sun was beginning to set. There he spotted the prince at a very far end, running deep into the desert. "There he goes!"

Still bitter about falling into the thorns and Weevil laughing at him, Rex grumbled at him , irritated. "Well, go get him!"

His companion scoffed incredulously. "No way! I'm not going anywhere near there! You want me to come out like you?"

Rex took out another chunk of thorns. "And you're supposed to be the smart one? You do realize you can just fly over there on your moth?"

Weevil rolled his eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, my moth is a forest type of bug, which makes it completely vulnerable to heat. If I were to fly over there through this horrible weather, my beautiful moth would get overheated and die before we even get halfway there!"

"But we have to finish the job! You heard the boss. He said no mistakes this time or we would regret it!"

Weevil continued to look towards the far distance of the desert, where the young prince could still be seen running towards the sunset. At that very moment, the sunlight hit the cliff, causing something to shine out. Curious, Weevil walk closer to the golden object that dangled at the end of the cliff and realized it was the golden crown of the prince. Picking it up, he grew a devious smile.

"Well this should be proof enough to convince them that we took care of the problem. And besides..." He then continued to look out into the desert where the prince still continued to run away. "In the middle of the desert, he's pretty much dead either way. And _if_ he comes back, we'll kill him."

This seemed to satisfy Rex as he smirked and looked back out into the desert and yell out what Weevil had said. "Yeah! You hear that!? If you ever come back, we'll kill ya!"

With that final warning, both shorter thieves laughed, before climbing onto Weevil's giant moth and taking off, excited to begin their new lives.

()()()()()()

As night came, it was definitely no ordinary night like the others. It would be a night where the lives of everyone in Egypt would forever change. The night where dark, tragic, and unfortunate events would fall upon Egypt.

Aknadin had taken his brother's body back to the palace, along with an unconscious Mahad. When he had woken up in the medical wing, he was unable to recall what had happened after the pharaoh went into the stampede to save the prince. Aknadin had convinced the boy that both of them had been knocked out by wandering thieves and that they had killed his bird Horus in the process. This caused Mahad and Nahi to question as to why, but after receiving the even more tragic news of both the pharaoh and the prince, they had completely pushed that aside, feeling it was unimportant in comparison to what they just discovered, though both still mourned for their hawk's death, along with the pharaoh's and the prince's.

The news that both Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Prince Atem had died in the stampede was a huge emotional impact all over Egypt, especially for Queen Nefertiti. The news that the two most important people in her life had died, completely destroyed her emotionally.

Aknadin consoled her, saying that they were at least able to recover her husband's body. When she had asked for her son's and why didn't they bring him with them, Aknadin had convinced her that his body had been completely destroyed by the stampede and it was impossible to bring it back in its current condition. The only thing they were able to recover was his crown. As Weevil had predicted, the crown was enough to convince the priest that the prince was indeed dead.

Pharaoh Aknamkanon was put in his sarcophagus as he was set in the middle of the throne room. Everyone that lived inside, especially the nobles surrounded the pharaoh's sarcophagus, mourning for their pharaoh. The sacred guardians in particular had knelt with their left foot forward, as they bowed in respect for their fallen king. Aknadin was currently sitting in his brother's throne, with the headdress crown put on the arm of the golden chair. Aknadin then gave out his speech as the others continued to mourn for the death of their king and prince.

"My brother, Pharaoh Aknamkanon's death was a terrible tragedy, but to lose the young Prince Atem, who had barely begun to live..."

Nefertiti had her head bowed, her eyes closed in pain as she cried and sobbed, while hugging Atem's golden crown to her chest. Mahad was currently by her side, patting her shoulders in comfort, trying his best to console her and stay strong for her, even though he himself was at the brink of tears at the fact that he lost his best friend.

"For me it was a deep and personal lost, losing the only family I had..."

Layla was mourning as well with the other nobles, while she was currently rubbing her daughter's head in comfort. Mana was holding onto her mother's legs as she listened to Aknadin's consolation speech. Clenching onto her golden moon amulet, the little girl buried her face into her mother's dress as tears of agony fell down her cheeks, not believing that her best and closest friend was dead.

Seto had his arms crossed as he had his head bowed in respect as well, also mourning, even though he appeared to have a vacant expression. He may not have known the pharaoh or Prince Atem for very long, but he managed to grow fond of them with the little time had known them, especially since they welcomed him with open arms into the palace as if he was family, and gave him the opportunity to start a new life. Atem in particular, had welcomed him into his circle of friends and was always trying to get him involved in their conversations during his first week there. He had taken a liking to the prince and was becoming convinced that they would become great friends, since he had come to realize they were so much alike in so many ways. But to his disappointment, it seemed that they will never have the chance. Still, it was strange to him that the news of their deaths had impacted him and was currently bothering him a little more than it should.

"So it is was a heavy heart that I assume the throne..."

He then got up from the throne, which he now proclaimed as _his._ The now former-priest then snapped his fingers as out of the shadowed corners of the room, thieves, some who were previously nobles, but were exiled by the former pharaoh due to breaking the laws, along with the mysterious, yet infamous dark-cloaked men who he now knew called themselves Servants of the Dark One appeared and surrounded the mourning family, nobles, and servants.

"Yet out of the ashes we shall rise.."

They all gasped in surprise and fear when they noticed the unwanted guests appear from the shadows. Aknadin stood up from his throne and put on the pharaoh's crown, which was now his. His minions walked towards the sarcophagus with malevolent looks on their faces as they picked it up and took the late pharaoh out of the palace. The only ones who stayed were the Dark Servants, which he called them for short, and Bakura behind him.

"To reach the dawn of a new era, where we unite as one..."

He then walked outside of the palace and into the balcony, where he looked down towards the giant crowd of civilians, who had come to pay their respects for the loss of their king and their prince. They were currently frightened as well as the people inside the palace, since they were currently being surrounded by even more outsiders who had them cornered with weapons and their threatening gazes.

"In our great and glorious future!"

Aknadin then officially proclaimed himself as the new pharaoh, while even more outsiders began to enter the boundaries if Egypt and the main city. Today was definitely the beginning of new era. A dark era, where the Sun-God Ra was seen setting for the last time and would not expose himself nor his bright sun-rays to Egypt for a very long time. It was the beginning of a dark, tragic reign.

()()()()()()

Shimon was currently watching from a very far distance with pain and grief, as the lands of Egypt were being taken over.

"Oh..."

He shook his head in disappointment and bowed his head in sorrow, not only for losing a long-time friend and his great-nephew, but also because he also knew that his niece was the one who was suffering the most out of this tragedy. Pained and heartbroken, Shimon returned to his cabin.

There, he curled in a sitting position, while wrapping his arms around his legs. The old man was still mourning and tears escaped his eyes as he turned around to the wall he was leaning on. He looked at the doodle of Prince Atem, he himself drew when the prince was a baby.

Bowing his head in disappointment, Shimon put his hand on drawing and smudged it across the wall. "It's over..."

* * *

 **(1) As I expect most of you Yu-Gi-Oh fans to already know, yes the stampede is indeed a herd of Mammoth Graveyard monsters. The reason why I never mentioned it in the story is because from Atem's perspective or any of the characters, with the exception of Bakura, they don't know what's the proper name for this particular monster since they have never seen it before. If I'm mentioning this here, is because I wanted explain the reason why I never mentioned Mammoth Graveyard's official name and to those Yu-Gi-Oh fans who didn't know what monster I was referring, I just wanted to clarify what monster I was using in my story.**

 **So yeah, the pharaoh's dead and Atem's run away. This was definitely was a very dark and violent scene. I feel bad for having screwed with Atem's childhood more than what Simba had to go through, but it was necessary for his character development. Atem is a far more complex character and needed to somehow mold him into the mature, selfless character we all know and love from Duel Monsters.**

 **Alright hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter. See you all on Christmas Eve!** **Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Son of Man

**Hello everyone. It's me again. Merry VERY Late Christmas and New Years to everyone! I know I said I would update every other holiday, I'm sorry I hadn't kept my promise, but I've had a lot of problems at home last year. I had gone some inner depression of all this and honestly was in no mood to do anything. We had a good Christmas thanks to some relatives we went over, but News Years was pretty much a drag for us, compared to the previous parties we had. All in all, I just wanted to wait for this year to end, so I can leave behind all the bad things that happened last year and start over fresh. My family and I are barely beginning to recover ourselves from all the horrible things that happened last year. Now I'm more determined than ever to continue on with my life. Thank you guys for showing your support by reading my story. I'm also feeling a lot better you guys had a much better Christmas and New Years than I did. Now it's a new year, inspiration to keep going has returned and can finally pick up from where I started with this story! Now time to introduce new characters into this stories! So this is where we officially say goodbye to kid Atem, because the time has come for him to grow up.  
**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Yu-Gi-OH**_ **or** _ **The Lion King.**_ **All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures. Chapter Title belongs to Phil Collins.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Son of Man

As a new monarchy had been established and Aknadin was now officially the king of Egypt, everyone had went to bed, though most, especially the residents that lived inside the palace, were unable to get a proper sleep due to their grief over what was to become of their precious kingdom at the hands of Aknadin. Their kind and wise pharaoh was now gone and buried in his sacred tomb and his son, the next heir to the throne was also dead. The new self-proclaimed pharaoh had told them that by tomorrow, he would pass down the new set of laws. Everything seemed to be going according to the plan for the current pharaoh. However, due to his arrogance and being overjoyed of having finally claimed what he had always wanted, Aknadin had overlooked one small, but very important detail...

()()()()()()

It was already past midnight as everything in the kingdom had managed to die down a bit after the tragic news had been revealed. Everyone had retreated back their homes, though the idea that both their pharaoh and prince had been killed in the stampede was still very fresh in their minds. One person, however, realized there was something extremely strange in this whole situation...

Shadi was not completely convinced of Aknadin's story, especially after hearing that thieves had supposedly knocked him and young Mahad unconscious, who happened to conveniently be passing by the stampede, where the pharaoh had gone to try and save the prince. And not only that, they also kill Nahi's hawk at the very moment Mahad had called him to send the urgent message that help was needed. Everyone else had bypassed this information as unimportant, due to Aknadin's news of the tragedy and the fact that the stampede had destroyed Balat.

But not Shadi. Everything seemed too convenient to be just a coincidence. Putting the pieces together, it seemed like this whole ordeal was actually a planned trap and not just a simple accident. But who would plan something so malevolent?

According to Aknadin, thieves had been wondering near the gorge, around the time of the stampede and had been the ones who supposedly knocked him and Mahad out of the way. And now that Aknadin is pharaoh, he just let the thieves enter the palace, free to roam where ever they please as if nothing happened.

To him, it seemed that Aknadin had been much more involved in the deaths of his brother and nephew, than he had led the others to believe. He wouldn't be surprised at all if his suspicions were true. He never trusted Aknadin and was well aware of his sick hatred and envy against his own brother. Only Shadi seemed to actually realize how low and despicable Aknadin was willing go through in order to get what he wanted. But he couldn't just directly point towards Aknadin as the main suspect without any concrete evidence. He himself wasn't even fully sure what had happened. He also seemed to be the only to notice that something very important had been missing when the pharaoh's body was brought back.

Needing to discover more information on what had happened, he decided to travel discreetly to the gorge, where the now destroyed and vacant village of Balat was. Being there, Shadi rode his horse through dust and the grey ashes, which smelled of death. Looking around, he noticed that absolutely everything been destroyed. Tents were ripped and torn down, wooden cabins seemed to be sliced and broken down as well. This raised Shadi's curiosity as he continued to ride deeper into the village.

All of a sudden, a grotesque stench of blood mixed with the small essence of rotting flesh filled the air, as he covered his nose and mouth with his sleeved arm. Looking around, he saw the corpses of the villagers spread all over the places. Some were unrecognizable to the point that they no longer looked human. Others were cut apart, with their limbs and heads spread all over the place.

Shadi was horrified at the scene all together, but there some small details of this scene that really caught his attention. The dismembered corpses, he noticed, seemed more vertically sliced and not ripped apart at all. They appeared more as if they had been perfectly cut apart by a weapon. Aknadin had told them the stampede was what caused the deaths of the villagers of Balat, but seeing the sight before, he now realized that Aknadin had lied to them. Yes there was a stampede, judging by the state of the place and Mahad's testimony but Aknadin seemed to have left out even more specific details about what really happened.

Shadi was broken out of his thoughts, when his Millennium Key began to glow. It then began to lift itself in a horizontal position, as the tip of the key seemed to be pointing towards something ahead. Shadi knew his item was trying to show him something, so he decided to pay heed to his item's warning and followed its direction. As Shadi rode closer, his key began to slowly lay itself back in its original pose, though the glowing did not stop.

Shadi finally stopped as the key seemed to almost be back to the way it was, but was still slightly lifting itself, pointing towards the ground in front of Shadi. The sacred guardian then got off his horse, as he began to inspect the ground where his key was pointing at. He then noticed something gold and shiny within the dirt. Shadi picked up the piece, blew the dirt off, and inspected it closely. His eyes widened as realization dawned over him. _It's a piece of the Millennium Puzzle!_

The young priest then dug threw the dirt in the same spot. It wasn't long before he found the other pieces spread all over the place. Being a sacred guardian, he had been required to study about all the Millennium Items, not just his own as were his colleagues, which is why he knew exactly how many puzzle pieces there were that made the puzzle. Though to harness the powers within each item was work alone to each individual. As he gathered the pieces, cleaning off the dirt, Shadi counted them and realized there was one missing. It was precisely the one that contained the Eye of Wadjet. He kept looking through the ground, until he had finally found it.

Finally gathering all the pieces of the puzzle together, Shadi looked towards the full moon that was nearly covered by grew clouds. He was certain that Aknadin had been involved in something even more sinister, concerning the deaths of the pharaoh, the prince, and the clan. And he also knew once the current pharaoh had calmed down from his victory in claiming the throne, he would come back to look for the puzzle. As such, Shadi knew it was too dangerous for the puzzle to be kept in the palace. The puzzle had to be hidden, until he managed to discover the whole truth behind this. Still looking at the moon, one thought came to mind. _There's only one person who I know that will be able to keep this puzzle well hidden..._

()()()()()()

Throughout the hot, burning desert, Atem continued to walk and walk, even though his legs were aching and pleading for him to stop. He was breathing hard, tired and dehydrated from walking throughout the desert without any sight of food or water. It had been days since he had left running from the lands of Egypt, his former home and only a few hours back had he finally stopped running.

Throughout his exhaustion, Atem decided to just keep walking, since he could no longer run. In truth, he actually had no idea where he was going, nor did he care. Anywhere was good as long as it was far away from Egypt. But his body was at the point of passing out, due to overheat and lack of food and water. He also began to realize the spot where he hit his head back at the cliff and lost his crown, was hurting again and the pain was getting bigger by the second.

Not realizing the giant rock ahead of him, the prince walked over it and accidentally tripped, falling onto the hot sand. The child groaned in pain at the rough landing as his skin burned against the sand. Despite how tired he was, the prince forced himself to get up on his knees, but was unable to stand up. He looked at his arms, which was decorated by royal, golden bands. They suddenly felt really heavy on him, as if they were holding him back. Irritated at being reminded of what he was back in Egypt, Atem angrily removed all his golden accessories. His wrist bands were first to go. Then the golden bands around his legs were next. Then his golden collar, along with his earrings and rings. The last thing he had taken off was a golden necklace and was about to throw with his other things, when he took a good look at it.

It was the golden sun amulet Mana had given him. He stared at it for a while, thinking about her and Mahad. He remembered that night when Mana had given it to him and she also kept a moon version so that they will always remember each other every time they saw the amulets. He was saddened at the fact that he will never be able to see her face again. It was too precious for him to put aside and he wanted to have at least one thing that would always remind him of one of his best friends.

He clenched it in his fist, before putting the necklace back around his neck again. Deciding at not wanting to stay here, staring at his golden garments, the prince got to his feet and started walking again. However, he only walked a few steps, before the pain in his head returned stronger than ever before. It wasn't long before Atem started losing consciousness as he saw everything turning upside down. He tried to stay conscious, but to no avail as he felt everything going black. But right before he completely lost consciousness and passed out, a blur of what appeared to be trees and plants appeared up ahead. _Great... Now I'm_ _hallucinating._

That was his last thought before the young prince completely collapsed on the ground.

()()()()()()

Elsewhere in the giant jungle, two boys were currently walking throughout the jungle, whistling. One of the boys had bright, blonde hair and golden eyes. He was currently wearing a brown, furry garment that was hung by only one strap across his chest. His brown belt held the lower part of his outfit together with his upper garment. The boy was light-skinned and appeared to be around 11 years old, though his expression held a determination and rebellious attitude, that clearly said he was not to be underestimated.

His companion was taller and more masculine, with brown, pointing hair that stood still and brown eyes. This boy appeared a little older than the blonde, since he seemed to be around his early teens. He was also light skinned, while wearing a tan tunic, which had a brown belt tied around his waist, along with some brown pants and dark-brown furry boots.

Behind them was a very tall and large man, who was carrying a lot of food into his hands. He wore traditional Arabic clothing, while his skin was slightly darker than the traditional Egyptian sun-kissed tan. The man was simply enjoying eating chunk by chunk of his food, while walking behind the boys.

As they continued to walk, the blonde child, bored of the silence between, decided to have some small talk. "Oof! Man! That was some rough training! Glad we took a quick bath near the water fall, otherwise we'd be tired and sweaty in this heat!" The blonde boy stretched his arms before turning to the other boy, who he realized wasn't listening to a word he just said. Instead, the boy had a dazed look on his face, while smiling and blushing.

This made the blonde boy irritated, before stopping and hitting the taller boy in the back of the head. "Hey Honda! Wake up ya nimrod!"

Surprised and annoyed at the assault, the boy now known as Honda shot an angry look back at the smaller boy.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Jo?!"

"I was talking to ya, but judging by that dimwitted look on your face, its pretty obvious that you have no idea what I just said!" Jo then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You wouldn't be happening be thinking about my little sister, are you?"

This made Honda dash up quickly, blushing. "W-what. No! Of-of course not!" The way he mumbled out the words nervously made it clear to Jo that Honda was lying, but decided to just go along with it. He then smiled while patting his friend on the back.

"Good! Because you know she's off limits and she's too young to be having suitors right now."

Honda scoffed as his expression seemed to saddened a little. "Not like it matters anyway. Even if you were to let me suit your sister, your mother is still taking her back to Japan tonight and we'll probably never see her again."

This reminder seemed to pierce through Jo's chest and into his heart, as his expression turned to one of pain. Honda immediately realized how out of place his comment was and quickly tried to apologize. "Jo, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to bring that up! I know it's even more painful for you this situation! It's just-"

Honda was interrupted by a determined smirk coming from Jo, while he waved his hand, brushed off his friend's apology. "Forget about it. Whether we like it or not, it's something that's going to happen no matter what and all I can do now is accept it and move on with my life. It's part of our motto after all."

With that, the blonde child continued to walk with his friend walking after him. "But you know Jo. There's nothing stopping you from going back to our home country with your mom and sister if you really want to be with them. So why did you still want to stay here? I don't have any family left over there, so there's no one waiting for me there. But you? You have the option of going with them if you really want to man. I just don't get it."

Knowing Honda had a really good point, he stopped once more and looked up at the surface, where sun rays were peaking through the trees. "Because Honda. Like you, there's nothing left for me back in Japan. All I have there are bad memories. You know my story. I was never able to fit in with the rest of my people. I would always get into fights all the time because they thought I was either a freak or a trouble maker. And when I would always go back home with bruises, dad would beat him half to death. And when my mom tried to defend me, she'd get beat up too. The only reason Shizuka never had to go through that is because I would always protect her and take the beating from our dad instead of her."

Jo sighed sadly as he continued with his story. "It's was hard for me back there Honda. It was always like that. That's why we took the option to travel here to Africa. Not just to escape the war our country was going through at the time like others did, but to also escape from the hell my dad was making us live through. It was to start a new life, away from him. Sure the war is finally over now and my dad is long dead, and mom is now ready to go back home with Shizuka. But for me, this place is my home now. The people here have treated me much more like their own than my own ever did, with the exception of you and sensei of course! I know both my mom and sister are ready to go back home and I feel sad that I won't see them for a very long time. But whatever life I had back in Japan is now in the past and the past is over! This is my life now! Just you, me, and Bobassa!"

Honda looked astonished at his younger friend, surprised at how mature he was being about this situation, when he usually acts impulsive and childish. Before long, Honda smiled at his younger friend and nodded eagerly. "Right! I mean I still feel sad that Shizuka is leaving us! But at least we'll still be together like the best pals we are! You, me, and Bobassa..."

Honda turned to look back at their larger friend, but realized he was not behind them. "Hey! Where did Bobassa go?!" They turned and looked ahead of them, noticing huge footsteps.

This made Jo irritated as tick marks formed on his head. "That big oaf ditched us! Come on Honda! Let's catch up to him before he runs out of food and then we're gonna have to roll him all the way back home!"

With that, Jo ran off with his taller friend running behind him. As both boys continued to run, following Bobassa's foot steps, Honda was growing tired and kept falling behind. "Hey Jo, slow down a little would ya?"

Jo looked back at his friend and shot him an annoyed look, while still running. "Oh come on! Don't tell me you're tired alrea-"

Because he had not been looking where he was going, Jo suddenly bumped into something squishy. "Gah!"

He was then pushed off and fell backwards, falling onto the ground. He landed right in front of Honda who stopped right in front of his fallen friend. Jo recovered from the impact as he began to lift himself slowly, while looking up. He realized it was their large friend Bobassa, who had his back turned on them.

The boy immediately jumped back onto his feet and angrily glared at the huge man. "Hey Bobassa! What's the big idea, leaving us behind in the jungle like that!?" Bobassa didn't seem to react at all as he was still staring ahead of him. This annoyed Jo even more as he walked to his side, climbed up his arm, and waved his hand in front of Bobassa's face.

"Hello!? I am talking to you!" Bobassa still didn't turn to the blonde boy, but simply lifted his other free arm and pointed towards to the direction he had been staring at.

"Look over there my friend." Still annoyed, Jo turned towards the direction Bobassa was pointing at and immediately gasped. They soon realized that they were standing in front of the desert, but that's not what had actually shocked them. A few feet away from them, Jo saw a small boy with wild-colored spike hair, laying unconscious in the middle of the sand.

Honda too joined in to see what his other two friends were staring at and shared the same reaction as they did. "What the? It's a kid!" Immediately all three of them ran into the boundaries of the desert and gathered around the unconscious boy.

Jo patted the boy softly, and then put his ear near his face, to see of he was still alive. Nervous and worried about the boy, Bobassa finally decided to ask for his well-being. "Is he alive friend?"

The young blonde nodded. "Yeah. He's still breathing, but judging by his condition, he won't be for long if we don't get him out of this place and get him help."

Honda knelt down and carefully turned the boy and had him laying on his front. At seeing the boy's scratched face and a better look at his torn garments, everyone gasped in surprise.

"No-no way." Jo was beyond shocked at what he was seeing.

"He looks just like-!"

"Oh my! This boy is Egyptian." Both Jo and honda were broken out of their disbelief and looked at Bobassa.

"How can you tell?" Jo asked curiously. Bobassa chuckled at his question.

"I have traveled to many different places, looking for to try out many different kinds of yummy delicious food. A few years back, I came across Egypt and lived there for some time and managed to recognize some characteristics and clothing that Egyptians usually wore. Not only that, but they also have some of the most delicious food I ever tasted. Speaking of which..."

Bobassa then looked at the boy curiously with a finger in his mouth, drooling. "You don't think this boy happens to have some food with him."

Both Jo and Honda slapped their foreheads in disbelief and annoyance, before Jo gave him an angry glare.

"Bobassa ya jerk, this is hardly the time to be thinking about your stomach right now! Can't you see the kid is badly hurt and needs our help!"

This caused the large man to lower his gaze in shame before realizing the blonde boy was right. He then proceeded to pick up the unconscious boy in his arms.

"Alright! We've got the kid. Now what do we do?"

Jo immediately had an answer to Honda's question.

"My mom! She's good at mixing up her herbs to heal the sick or injured. I'm pretty sure she can help!"

Having all agreed on Jo's plan, the three immediately ran back into the jungle, with the unconscious boy in Bobassa's arms.

()()()()()()

Atem fluttered his eyes slowly, but only made it half-way before closing them again. They felt heavy as his mind and body felt very tired. He then tried to open them again, this time with more ease than before. His entire vision was blurred, so while he was only able to see moving figures of people, he was unable to make out their faces or tell if they were male or female. He also heard echoing voices, but was unable to make out the words as his entire mind was in a blur for the moment.

The young prince was slowly regaining consciousness as he was starting to feel something wrapped around his forehead. He finally able to flutter his eyes open more now, while his vision was beginning to clear.

"Shizuka pass me that jar that contains the herbs on the shelf."

"Yes mom."

Atem then noticed the people before him. One was a grown woman, with short curly strawberry blonde hair. Next to her was a little girl around 8 or 9 years old with shoulder length, straight hair, also strawberry blonde. She was currently handing a jar to her mother, while the woman went back to her table, preparing something he couldn't see. The little girl then turned to him and gasped.

"Mother! The boy's awake!"

This caused the woman to turn back towards him. "Oh dear. I see you've finally woken up. How are you feeling sweetheart?"

The woman's voice was kind and caring. It reminded him so much of his own mother. With eyes half-open and voice drowsy, he decided to answer. "Tired... and dizzy."

The woman then came closer to the young prince and placed her hand on his forehead.

"Hmm. You still have a little bit of a fever." She then moved back to her table once more, before coming back with a wet cloth and putting it over Atem's forehead. "There you go. Now I'll have the remedy ready for you in just a minute young man. Shizuka keep an eye on the boy for the meantime."

The little girl nodded. "Yes mom."

She then turned to the young prince once more. "Hi, I'm Shizuka! What's your name?"

"A-Atem." The way he said his name sounded so dead, so depressing, it made the smaller child slightly worried.

But deciding the boy needed some encouragement, she kept on her cheerful attitude. "Nice to meet you Atem. Big brother will be happy to see that you're awake. He's been really worried about you!"

This made the boy slightly raise his eyebrow in curiosity. "Your brother? B-but why?"

"He and his friends were the ones who found you in the desert and saved you! You're sure really lucky that he did! You came here in really bad shape. Mother even had cure your wound on your head, because it was starting to bleed from the inside."

As he processed all the information he just received, Atem now realized that the hit from the cliff, where he lost his crown must have cause this. It must also be the reason why his head was hurting badly. The prince looked back at the wiccan, who was walking back towards him with a small mug in her hands.

She then sat down next to the boy and helped him leaned up a bit with her arm under his head. She then brought the small mug to his mouth. "Drink this, it will make you feel better."

Atem didn't open his mouth or move at all. He just stared at the mug with a vacant, but saddened expression, unwilling to do anything. But the woman kept wasn't willing to give up just yet.

"My child, you must drink this. It's a cure to help heal your body." The prince only looked back at the woman with slight defiance in his eyes.

"I am _not_ your child. I don't have parents anymore."

The woman was slightly taken back by this, but didn't take the boy's comment to heart. Rather, it made her even more concerned for the boy. His statement about not having parents meant that he was alone in the world.

While the woman continued to look at Atem with worry, her small daughter decided to interfere in the conversation.

"Please Atem! Mother only wants to help you. She, my brother, and I have been really worried about you. Please to drink the cure. Pretty please!" Shizuka then put her hands together and gave him a pleading look.

The prince observed her for a moment and that puppy-dog look, while she pleaded reminded him to much of Mana. Whenever she wanted something from him, this is exactly what she would do, but also calling him 'Temmy'. His expression saddened at the thought of his best friend, before he sighed and weakly opened his mouth to drink. The woman held the mug to his mouth as he continued to drink the cure. Once he was done, the woman slowly laid the boy back on the bed.

The woman and Shizuka gave him a kind smile. "Alright little one. Now you must rest so that your body and your head wound can heal properly."

The prince could only nod weakly as he suddenly began to feel tired again. He slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

()()()()()()

Jo and Honda were currently sitting outside of the wiccan's cabin, waiting patiently for any news on the Egyptian boy they found in the desert. Bobassa at the moment was currently eating more than usual, though unknown to everyone, the man was actually eating out of desperation to bring down the anguish he felt for Atem's well-being.

Jo was inwardly growing impatient at not knowing anything of how the boy's state was at the moment. He didn't know why, but he was afraid for the kid. The boy reminded him too of someone he was very close to back in Japan. Right before he had traveled over here, his friend's family had taken him and left to France, escaping the war. He wondered if he'll ever see him again. The blonde child sighed in defeat. _Probably not. I really do miss him. But I don't regret my choice. This is my home now and I'm just gonna have to accept the idea of possibly never seeing him or my family again._

His thoughts were interrupted by someone patting him on the back. He turned around and noticed Honda was giving him a concerned look. "Hey man. Got something on your mind?"

Jo sighed once more before answering. "It's just... I can't help but think of the kid. If we hadn't found him when we did, he would have died. It makes wonder how our little buddy is doing in Europe right now. He could be in the same situation right now, but there's probably no one there to help him."

Honda only scoffed at his insecurities and wrapped his arm around Jo's shoulder. "You worry too much. I know for a fact the little guy is doing just fine right now." Jo looked down and a small smile appeared.

"I wish I had your positive attitude. But after what we saw today with the Egyptian kid, I'm can't help but feel this way."

The older boy was about to reply, when they heard a wooden door open. Both boys looked immediately towards the entrance of the cabin and noticed Jo's mother.

They immediately got up and walked up to her. Bobassa also stopped eating and joined the boys.

"How is he mom?!"

The woman gave her son a reassuring smile, while ruffling his hair. "Don't worry Jounouchi. Your little friend will be just fine. He is no longer in any danger."

This caused the three males to let out sighs of relief, feeling a giant weight being lifted off their shoulders. Jo then looked back in concern.

"But is he gonna get better?"

"Yes. With just a few days of rest, he'll be fully recovered. But from what I can tell, the wounds he has to heal are not just physical. That poor child seems to be in depression and has lost the will to live. The boy needs emotional support."

The small blonde was then lost deep in thought, while Honda decided to speak up. "Not to worry ma'am! We'll make sure the kid starts feeling better in no time."

The wiccan smiled at the older boy's enthusiasm and determination, before looking back at her son. Once Jo had finally set his ideas on what to do, he looked at his mother.

"Honda's right mother! Just leave it to us! If that kid really was alone before, then we'll become his friends! We'll look after him and he'll never be alone again."

The woman picked up on her son's words before bowing her head in sadness. "So... I guess this means you plan on staying here, instead of going back with me and Shizuka."

Jo also bowed his head in sadness and nodded.

"But Jounouchi, you still have the option to come with me and your sister. Think about it! We can start a new life. Your father is no longer around to harm us and the war is over! Back home, we can live together as a family! Please my son, I-"

"Mom." Jo interrupted his mother with that one word before continuing. "Listen we already talked about this. Life back in Japan is over for me. I have only bad memories there and going back would only relive those memories. And at this point, I've long since buried that past that once haunted me. This place is my home now."

This caused the woman to sob and let out tears. "Mom. I know this is hard for you and you probably think that I'm too little to look after myself. But I practically was already living as an adult back in Japan and this situation is no different. Besides, it's not like I'm alone. I have Honda, Bobassa, and even Sensei by my side."

The woman wiped the tears away from her eyes and pulled her small son into a hug. "My little boy! You have no idea how much I am going to miss you!"

Jo sympathized with his mother's reaction and felt happier, knowing his mother finally understood his decision. The blonde child enjoy his mother's hug for the next minute before he heard snickering. He turned around and saw Honda and Bobassa giggling at seeing their friend being smothered by his mother. Jo blushed in embarrassment and nagged his mother to let him go.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me in front of my friends!"

The woman let go of her child at his protests and wiped the remaining of her tears from her eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. I just love you so much and I'm going to miss you. But promise me that you're going to write to me every now and then."

Jo smiled at her and nodded in agreement. "I promise. Anyways, I'm gonna go inside and say good-bye Shizuka. It's gonna be hard for her to accept that we're separating. I should be the one to talk to her."

His mother nodded before ruffling his hair, before he headed inside the cabin. As Jo disappeared into the cabin, his mother looked back Honda and Bobassa.

"I would like to thank you both so much for everything you did for my boy. Having found great friends like you really has helped him adjust to his new life."

"Aw, shucks. It's no problem ma'am." Honda smiled becoming bashful.

"Please look after my boy. I know he can be a bit hard to handle, knowing how rebellious he is, but I know that with you both by his side, he will be just fine. Also, regarding that child you found, you won't have to worry about him recovering physically, but could you please help him find his way? Something terrible must have happened to him and I fear that he may be alone in this world. I wish I could do more to help, but the carriage leaves tomorrow morning and it will be a very long journey before we even reach the sea, let alone my homeland. I'm just glad I was able to save that child from dying. But I trust both him and Jo will be in good hands.

Bobassa and Honda nodded before the huge man walked toward her and bowed his head in respect. "Do not worry madam. We will look after your son and that Egyptian boy. You have my word."

Honda joined in casually. "Yeah, you don't have to worry. My bud and I have been through thick and thin. And just like he's been there for me, I won't let you or him down. And don't worry about the kid either. You just leave him to us!"

Jo's mother smiled. "Of course."

()()()()()()

 **A few days later...**

Atem began gain in consciousness as he fluttered his eyes open once more. The tired boy struggled to pick himself up until he was finally sitting on the bed. The prince felt his body still sore, though most of the pain and numbness he had felt before had disappeared. As he began to wake up from his long bed rest recovery, Atem was starting to remember what happened before he had passed out again.

Flashes of the wiccan who had attended him and the little girl with such a strange name came to mind. He also remember being in a cabin filled with herbs and potions. Atem then looked around him and noticed that he was no longer in the same room, but rather a plain, stoned room. Through the stoned wall was what appeared to be a window, where the sun rays were barely reaching inside. It was barely morning from what he could tell.

The prince remembered that there where times where he and his father would wake up very early in the morning and watch the Sun-God Ra, rise up and brighten up their beautiful kingdom.

He expression saddened and was filled with pain and guilt at the thought of his father. His father was now dead and he no longer had a home to return to. He must keep going and move as far away from everyone as possible so that he may never hurt anyone ever again. As he began to get up of the bed, the boy stopped his movements as a loud yawn was heard, along some loud snoring.

He turned to the sound and soon realized that he wasn't alone. A few feet away from him were Jo and Honda sleeping on the same bed, both with their arms and legs stretched all over the bed while snoring loudly. He then looked over to the other end of the room and saw a massively large man with darker skin than his own, sleeping on a thick colored cover. The man was snoring the loudest, while his arms were clutched to a bunch of food.

 _Where am I? And who are these people?_

While he trying to gather together his thoughts, he heard again the familiar loud yawn, this time, noticing it was coming from the blonde child, who appeared to be around his age.

Said boy, was fidgeting a couple of before his eyes fluttered open and he groaned when he saw Honda had pushed him near edge of the bed, taking most of the space. Irritated, he pushed the older boy off his side of the bed. Tired, he got up and yawned, while stretching his arms. Rubbing his tired eyes, he turned around and was surprised to see the boy that had been unconscious for the past 3 days, wide awake.

He gasped. "Hey you're awake!" He then turned quickly to his sleeping companions in excitement. "Wake up guys! The kid's finally awake!"

As Honda and Bobassa stirred at their friend's yelling, Jo did not wait for them to get up as he excitedly jumped off the bed and ran towards the runaway Prince. He then placed a hand on Atem's shoulder, sign of a friendly gesture. "You sure had us really worried for these past couple of days. We thought you were a goner and didn't think you would make it. So how are you feeling?"

Atem barely showed any reaction towards his question and simply shrugged. "Fine I guess. Where am I?"

"You're in our place." The answer from Honda who had now just made it next to Jo along with Bobassa standing behind them. "This is where we live. And that bed you're laying on is where I usually sleep. But since you were in pretty bad shape and we couldn't leave you alone at Jo's mom's cabin, I thought it wouldn't hurt to let you borrow for a little while."

"Oh..."

The boy's depressed and apathetic behavior began to worry the trio, especially Jo. Still eager to learn more about the mysterious child, he decided to introduce themselves. "Well, anyways, my name is Jounouchi! But you can call me Jo for short." He then pointed towards Honda and Bobassa, while laughing through his big, toothy smile.

"And these two knuckleheads are my friends and personal sidekicks! We saved you from getting fried out there in the desert. Of course I did most of the work, while these two just helped!"

Honda grew annoyed and irritated at his friend's cockiness. He then wrapped his arm around the smaller boy's neck and began to give him a noogie."

"You've got some nerve showing off and taking all the credit over something we _all_ did."

"I was kidding!"

While the two friends played rough with one another, Bobassa tried to stop his younger friends from play fighting, while happily claiming something about friends must share the credit, just how they must share food, even though he himself gobbles most of it.

Atem payed no heed to them as he weakly got off the bed and decided it was time to leave. He did not know where he was headed, nor do it matter.

"Thank you for your help."

Hearing the boy speak up for the first time, the trio stopped and turned to Atem. He was already headed towards the entrance, no turning to face them.

Jo was the first to speak. "Wait where are you going?"

"I don't know."

Atem finally exited out of their home. Jo, Honda, and Bobassa immediately ran to the entrance. They stood there and noticed that Atem hadn't gotten very far. He sat on a rock, with his head bowed.

The three friends looked at the depressed child worriedly, wondering at what could have caused him to be in such a state.

"I wonder what is it that has caused our little friend to be so sad?"

"Who knows." Jo then showed a determined attitude. "But we gotta find a way to help cheer the kid up."

Following his statement, all three walked over to Atem who hadn't noticed them walking until Jo sat next to him, giving him a concerned look. The prince merely glanced back at the blonde child.

"So mind telling us where you're from?" The prince just shrugged.

"Doesn't matter. I can't go back."

This caused the group to look at each other in understanding. "Ah so you're like a misfit aren't ya? Well that's fine by us. So are we."

Atem still retained the same depressed look, unmoved by the group's intentions. Bobassa then decided to try a different method.

"Here my little friend, have some these delicious food. You must be hungry."

Despite appreciating the huge man's offer, the prince was still reluctant.

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry."

"Please young one." Bobassa kept insisting, still offering the food. "You must eat something. It is the only way you will be able to fully recover."

Realizing that Bobassa was not going to back down, Atem took a single piece of bread and began to eat slowly. Satisfied with this, Bobassa backed up as they watched the prince eat his bread quietly.

"Alright, now I don't want to get into too much of your business, but could you at least tell us your name? I think it's only fair, since we told you ours already?"

The prince stopped eating and looked at Jo. He was hesitant at first, since he was afraid they would recognize him as the prince of Egypt. But after some thinking, he realized that he was no longer in the boundaries of Egypt and from the two boys' appearances and their completely different customs, he knew they must be foreigners. The oversized man still, however, still had him worried. But seeing how innocent and kind-hearted he was, the prince just had to take the risk.

Looking and down and gulping nervously, he answered. "It's Atem."

This didn't seem to faze the trio in the way he had expected. Better yet, they just seem to just go along with as if they were just happy he introduce himself.

"Wow. Sounds like a pretty cool name. It's sure a lot easier to remember than most names of people I've met here."

Honda jumped in next to Atem on the other side. "Yeah, ain't that the truth."

The optimism and spunk of the two boys seemed to somewhat cheer up the small prince and made him temporarily forget about his problems. He let out a small smile, which did not go unnoticed by Jo.

"Hey! You finally smiled! I knew I'd be able to cheer you up. I have that effect on people!"

Honda rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you have that affect on people, alright, especially since you act like a clown most of the time and no one can take you seriously."

"Say WHAT!?"

Ignoring Jo's outburst, Honda turned to Atem. "Anyway, why were you out in the middle of the desert? Don't you know it's dangerous out there, especially for a small kid like you?"

Atem went back to his low, gloomy behavior as he looked down in shame. "I...ran away."

The group gasped. "You ran away?! Why? What happened?"

The prince show his head reluctantly at Honda's question.

"Something horrible, I really don't want talk about it."

Seeing Atem's expression turn into one of hurt and guilt at the topic being brought up, Jo immediately understood and decided to not push onto it anymore.

"Alright guys. Let's not pressure Atem into telling us personal things he's obviously not comfortable with telling. And Atem you don't have to worry about us knowing what happened in the past. We don't want to hear about it and if you don't have a home to go back to and that you're alone, then pal, you are welcome to stay with us and join our circle of friends. That solves two of your problems. So what do ya say?"

The boy looked at Jo for a moment in surprise. This who he just met a few minutes ago, had just so openly accepted him. They didn't seem to care or even know what he had done in the past. Could they really be serious about being his friends and offering him a new life to compensate for everything he had lost?

But then his conscious struck him down like a bolt of lightening as he remembered his uncle's words. The things Aknadin said to him were cruel, yet truthful to him. He possessed dangerous magic that he wasn't able to control, which is what caused his father's death. Now he was afraid that would happen to anyone else who was around him. Shaking his head reluctantly, the prince immediately got up.

"No, I can't... I can't be near you. I can't be near anyone anymore. I'm sorry but I can't I... I have to go!" The prince started walking away immediately, but since he hadn't fully recovered from his injuries Atem could only get so far, before his body began to feel sore again.

The group gasped at Atem's change of attitude and immediately went after him.

"Whoa, whoa! Hey there kid slow down, would you?" Honda was the first to reach him and pushed the boy's shoulders, to prevent him from leaving. "Just relax. You can't just leave when you have no idea where you're going, especially when you're still in pretty bad shape."

"But you don't understand anything! I have to leave! I can't be near anyone! I can't risk hurting anyone again!"

The prince was at the brink of tears and the group looked at one another, concerned, trying to figure out on how to help him.

"Alright," Jo moved near Atem slowly and his hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you sit down first and tell us why you think being around us is dangerous."

The prince took a breath as all 4 of them sit down. Atem explained to them pretty much everything that had to do with his shadow powers, magic, and also mentioned about his _ba_ and _ka._ Of course, he completely left out any details concerning his personal life in Egypt, the tragedy of the the village Balat, his father's death, or the fact that he was the crowned prince of Egypt.

"So, you're saying that the reason why you don't want to be around anyone is that you think you're evil because you can't control these magical powers you have?"

Atem nodded as if he was completely certain this was true.

"Pfff! That's ridiculous! I mean if you actually do have these shadow powers, you're just a little kid! It's obvious you won't be able to fully control them, being so little! Whoever told you that anyway?"

The royal heir looked away from Honda.

"It doesn't matter. The point is that it's true."

Jo stood up, still not willing to accept what the boy claimed as true. "Well, hate to break it to you Atem, but I just don't believe you. I mean I don't know what might have happened in your life to make ya think this way. But I highly doubt that whatever happened is your fault and I especially don't believe ya to be evil! I may not be the sharpest tool in the box, but I definitely have good instincts and my instincts tell me that you wouldn't hurt a fly."

Bobassa, who had been eating while side-listening to the conversation, had jumped into the conversation eagerly.

"I too believe you to be a very kind child, my little friend."

"And the reason why we're telling you this is by our own experience. You mentioned that a _ka_ is what you call your spirit monster back in Egypt right?"

Atem nodded, confirming Jo's suspicions. Getting up, the other followed in pursuit.

"Alright, now I don't know what kind of things they taught you back in Egypt, but I think I have an idea of what you're talking about. This is a secret between us 4 so don't tell anyone else, unless I tell you to, okay?"

The prince nodded once more and was now intent in listening, who seemed to understand his situation a lot more than he expected.

Jo leaned in. "The truth is, we ain't so normal either. We happen to have powers of our own, like you do." The prince seemed rather shocked about the revelation as Jo continued. "And this _ka_ you mentioned, you know, your spirit monster. Me and Honda also have one."

"Really?!"

The blonde child smiled. "Yep. And believe me, it wasn't easy for both of us in having these powers, when at the time, we didn't where they were coming from. It's part of the reason why Honda and I weren't able to fit in with other people back where I came from. So you see kid, you aren't exactly different from the rest of us."

Honda agreed. "That's right little buddy, so don't be too hard on yourself. Now we're going through some special training so that we can control our powers." He then looked back to Jo, who shared the same look of agreement.

"And we know just exactly who can help ya out with your problem."

Atem grew with hope once more. "Are you serious? Can you take me to him?"

Jo and Honda exchanged looks and smiled, happy to see Atem no longer being the depressed and guilt-ridden boy from earlier. Not hearing an answer, Atem was about to ask again before he was surprised at being picked off the air by Bobassa and was sat on his shoulders.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Bobassa chuckled as they began to walk back into the jungle. "Do not worry little Atem. There will be plenty of time for that later. First we must show around here. It is a very beautiful place, with plants, animals, and the people here are very kind. But the best part is that we so much delicious food that you must try!"

"Bobassa's right, pal. You need a proper tour so you can get around this place, if you're gonna live with us?"

The prince looked surprised and confused at blond. "Huh? But I never said I had planned to live here. I'm still not-"

"Hey!" Honda interrupted him. "Don't you even think about that stupid idea of running away again! Especially if you plan on going back into the desert! We don't want to hear it! From now on, you don't have to worry about being alone ever again. This is your home, and you're going to stay with us! Got that?"

Atem felt like arguing back, but hearing how Honda's firm statement, he knew there was no point in trying, knowing the young adolescent had put his foot down. Giving up, he just sighed.

Jo smiled. "Trust me Atem. You're gonna love it here! No rules, no boundaries; here you're free to do whateva' you want and be whoeva' you want, without anyone telling ya anything. Plus, you now have friends like us now. So don't worry, no matter what happens, we'll always have your back."

The prince was so surprised at how generous these boys and this huge man were being with him. He'd never thought he'd find anyone else in this world who had hearts of gold, like his family and friends did back in Egypt, and also would accept him so easily into their lives. Especially after knowing what he was or what he did. But Jo, Honda, and Bobassa didn't seem to care about any of that. They were willing to give him a second chance in life, just like he and his father had given it to that boy, Seto.

Thinking of his father made his heart ache in pain once more. Despite the hope he was beginning to have, the pain and guilt in his chest would not leave him alone.

"But, even if I were to start a new life, nothing will be able to change the past. How can I move on if nothing will change what I did?"

They noticed his dilemma was still there, despite having achieved to raise up his spirit a little, and decided it was time to introduce him to their motto. Everyone stopped walking and both boys looked up at the prince with determined expressions. "Well I think it's time we go taught you a new lesson, especially if you're gonna start a new life here with us."

They all gathered in a circle as Jo cleared his throat. "Now repeat after me. _Shinpai nai._ "

Atem gave a confused look, finding what Jo had just said very strange. "Shin-what?"

"Shinpai nai." This time, it was Honda, who pronounced very slowly for the young boy. "It means 'no worries', back in our country."

"Just look at this way. Bad things happen in your life and you can't do anything about it right?"

The prince simply shrugged. "I guess."

"No!" Jo snapped. "What you do is if the world turns its back on ya, you turn your back on the world. Basically, you just leave the past behind you and move on. Forgive and forget."

Bobassa nodded eagerly with the two Japanese boys. "Do not worry, small one. I also had trouble understanding this strange tradition when I first met these children. But soon I began to learn and understand the meaning of it."

Atem wasn't too convinced. "But back home, that wasn't what I was taught. And besides, you make forgetting the past sound so simple, but it really doesn't feel simply at all."

Jo groaned, slightly annoyed at the boy's negativity. "That's the whole point and why you need a new lesson. We are going to teach you everything there is to know about our motto. And trust me, once you get use to living here with us, you'll soon learn that there are better things in life and before you realize it, all the bad things that happened to ya in the past will be left behind. Just let us show you how differently we do things around here. Now let's continue with the tour, because we still have so much to show ya."

The boy could only nod, as he was led deeper into the jungle. He sighed before looking down and saw Bobassa staring right at him with a goofy smile.

Feeling a glimmer of hope grow within him, Atem sighed in defeat and could only hope they were right and that good things would come out of this.

()()()()()()

From that moment on, the young prince was introduced to a world very different from his own. The jungle where Jo, Honda, and Bobassa lived in was beautiful! It was so full of life.

He saw many animals like monkeys, parrots, other colorful tropical birds, etc. There were very large trees, plants, flowers , but his most favorite part of the jungle was the huge waterfall, which beautifully fell down into small, peaceful lake. Atem never thought he would ever see something so beautiful and so tranquil in his entire life.

Jo, Honda, and Bobassa were apparently very serious when they had offered him their loyalty and friendship. They had completely made him feel at home in their place. Jo and Honda were very playful and optimistic, yet both seemed to have a bit of spunk, along with pride and arrogance. And despite Bobassa being very childish and playful for his age, he seemed to have a sort of wisdom to him, along with being kind and caring. Being able to relate to those aspects, he was able to get along very well with them and as time passed, Atem knew he could fully trust and on his friends with his eyes closed.

Being the youngest of the four now, they made it their duty to look after the boy, even though Atem's energetic and adventurous behavior made that task difficult. The first few months being there, Atem had almost returned to his old self. There were times were this dilemma drove the others crazy. Jo, being almost exactly Atem's age, would join him at times in tormenting their two older friends with pranks.

One time, Atem and Jo were both on top of a tree, before jumping on another. Both were giggling mischievously as Bobassa and Honda were at the bottom, looking up at them. They were throwing mangos at their two older friends. Honda was furious that day and kept demanding the two brats to get down, while Bobassa was simply enjoying himself by catching the flying fruits with his mouth and eating them.

It was all fun and games, until Atem jumped on a branch, which immediately broke off and caused the young prince to fall off the tree. Jo panicked, but in his attempt to catch Atem, he slipped and fell off as well. Luckily for Atem, the Egyptian prince landed softly onto Bobassa's belly, breaking his fall. Jo however landed on Honda, who made an attempt to catch his friend, but the force caused both of them to fall roughly on the ground.

Another time, Atem had dragged the others into playing with him in the river. They seemed reluctant at first, remembering their previous act, but could not resist the urge to play in the river and having played there many times, did not see the danger in it. To their misfortune, the prince was determined to take it even further in his fun, as he let the stronger currents of the river take him. Jo and Honda had swum after him, trying to save the boy from falling off the huge waterfall. Atem reached the end and fell, screaming in excitement, with the other two boys behind him, screaming in terror. Again he was lucky, as Bobassa grabbed him on time, while the other two fell. He then sat the boy on his shoulders and walked back into the jungle, with Atem exclaiming how much fun it was.

Meanwhile, both Jo and Honda hung on a loose branch for dear life, irritated at being forgotten and demanding for help. Eventually Bobassa and Atem remembered of their other two friends and immediately went back for them.

The situation was so comical that everyone laughed, even Jo and Honda. At that moment, the prince knew they were truly his friends and he was able to count on them for anything. He was able to fully confirm that the very night he had horrible nightmare, which was reliving the day his father died. Jo had waked up the prince, who was sweating bullets. Atem had been sleeping Honda's bed which was a little far from the other bed and where Bobassa slept. Not wanting to be alone, he asked if he could sleep with one of them. Before the other two could respond, the huge man offered to let him sleep on his belly. Despite the strange looks Jo and Honda gave one another, the prince excitedly jumped off and climbed onto Bobassa's belly. He smuggled into his blanket before falling asleep peacefully.

The others couldn't help but look at him in tender, thinking how adorable he looked, almost like a baby. They eventually fell asleep too, satisfied at finally gaining Atem's trust and friendship.

The surprises didn't stop there. The boys had taken him to the village that resided on the side of a hill outside of the jungle, but in the open space near the very high and grassy mountains. The villagers had been very welcoming and very friendly. They seemed to be very mixed as if each of them came from a different part of the world. Some of them were clearly European, due to their very different appearance. Others were from countries within Africa, while there were with few Asian foreigners; among then being Honda, Jo, and their mysterious teacher.

That is when Atem met Master Ishida. The boys had finally granted his wish and introduced him to their teacher, which they referred to him as _Sensei._

The man appeared middle aged with long black hair and dark-piecing eyes. It turned out that not only was he a great teacher with Jo and Honda, but was also the well-respected shaman of the village. The man was also a weapons expert, particularly swordsman ship and was highly trained in Asian martial arts. From what Jo and Honda had told, he had been originally trained as an assassin back in Japan, but had taken the reigns of his life and was now a humble man, who only revealed his deadly skills when absolutely necessary or when teaching extremely gifted children who weren't able to control their powers.

And it seemed Atem fell into that category. It had taken some time for the prince to open up to the elder man, as he was much more serious, strict, and seemingly cold in his persona. But as time went by and Atem began training with him, he soon learned so much more from Master Ishida. He was able to see right through people, understanding their situation, despite that Atem never actually revealed anything specific about his past. Within time, the young prince understood why everyone respected him and why Jo and Honda trusted this man with their lives. He was proud, honorable, understanding, but also very wise. He reminded him of Shadi a lot. Their relationship as master and pupil had solidified and was able to catch up with his other two friends in training.

An even bigger surprise was when a few new inhabitants came in, looking for refugee just as Jo and Honda had been. Almost all of them were Europeans, with the exception of one. But the most shocking revelation of all to Atem was that one person was a small Japanese boy; when he saw him for the first time, he couldn't believe his eyes. The boy looked almost exactly just like him! The kid could practically be his twin, especially the unique hair, which he thought almost no one else in this world had. The only difference was that he was younger, shorter, light-skinned, his hair didn't have the extra golden strands that stood up like Atem's, and his eyes were round and not narrow-shaped like his. This completely shocked Atem to the very core and the boy returned his same reaction.

Atem was about to ask who he was, until Jo and Honda came running behind him and towards the boy, welcoming him in a group hug. They both screamed with joy, exclaiming how much they missed him or how has he been. The prince had stood there, very confused at how they knew this boy until they mentioned his name: Yugi.

The prince couldn't believe it. So this was Yugi, apparently. He had heard so much about Yugi from Jo and Honda; very positive things in particular. But the most interesting detail of all was that they always said, he reminded them a lot of Yugi. He of course, always thought it was personality-wise. But now, he understood more than ever what they were referring to.

Once introductions were in order, Atem and Yugi at first couldn't believe their unique resemblance. But after, Yugi explained that he was sent here by his mother because he apparently turned out to be extraordinarily gifted like Atem, Honda, and Jo, therefore he was looking for Sensei Ishida, since he was the only one who was able to help him. Yugi claimed that once this task was finished, he would return to France with his mother.

But that soon changed as time went by and Yugi was beginning to reform his friendship with Jo and Honda, and Bobassa immediately grew on him with his childish personality and appetite. Atem also seemed to get along with Yugi much more than he had thought. Soon, they were able to overcome the revelation of their bizarre resemblance and immediately formed a very close bond with one another. They were practically like long-lost brothers who have found each other after so many years.

Yugi was immediately taken under Sensei Ishida's wing and surprisingly, it didn't take him long before he was also able to catch up with his other friends just as Atem had been able to. Once more, a new addition the group of friends had been added and Yugi felt himself growing more as a person by the side of his friends and living a happy life with them, that he reconsidered his plans on returning to Europe and stay here with them. It broke his family's heart of the news, especially his mother's, but they understood his reasons and respected his decision. Soon everyone in the group grew attached to their motto and the 5 became practically inseparable.

Before they knew it, the years were going by and the boys were growing up. Atem was growing out of his childish and mischievous persona, and was becoming more serious, polite, gentlemen-like, and mature. He was excelling in his training efficiently, focusing much more on controlling his power each day. The others soon realized that "little" Atem, which Bobassa often referred to him was growing up and soon, he would no longer need anyone to look after him. And it wouldn't be long before Yugi would follow as well.

Jo had become more protective of his friends, not letting anyone mess with their group. This soon became clear to everyone in the village, who crossed paths with Jounouchi. Honda was pretty much the same as Jo, except with a less aggressive aura and threatening gaze that Jo had. Yugi, while still retaining some of his childish appearance, managed to grow a few inches tall, looking more like a young adolescence than a child, though was still significantly shorter than Atem. Bobassa of course, remained the same, which the others were very happy about.

The years flew by without them realizing it and soon, they had become young men.

()()()()()()

 **Years Later…**

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ATEM!" The entire village exclaimed in excitement as lights and torches were lit up and everything was decorated colorfully. Food was placed everywhere. The people there were Bobassa, a very tall and fully grown Honda, Yugi, Sensei Ishida, and almost everyone else in the village. They were all looking at the young man, who had just walked into the village, a surprised look on his face, since the village had been previously dark and quiet. He then looked to his left and saw Jo smile in happiness and determination, while wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders in a friendly manner.

"Surprise pal! See, now ya understand why insisted on not coming here all day?"

The young prince stared at him in awe for a few seconds, before smiling and returning the manly hug.

"Yes, of course Jo. Thank you so much." He then turned to the crowd. "And thank you all as well. You have no idea how this means to me."

Everyone exclaimed your welcomes, congratulations, and such. The now grown Atem joined everyone else and all celebrated with them the day of his birth, thinking he has finally found his place in the world.

* * *

 **YES! Finally I'm finished. Thank god! Believe it or not guys, it's just this chapter was so boring to me, that it took me a while to finish and give a good story on how Joey and Tristan find Atem. I even started on the new chapter before I got to finish this one. Like I said, my inspiration is still on, but it's just this particular chapter that was so hard to write. I wasn't gonna put Yugi in this until later on, but then I realized that Yugi is VERY close friends to the pharaoh and Joey and Tristan. It would be a little too late and really hard to have him form a bond with them, when they are already grown and especially in the middle of the climax, when so many details need to unravel. That is why I decided to put him here instead.**

 **(1) This scene where Atem is running into the desert and the fact that he wants to forget he's a prince like Simba did, reminded me so much of the Prince of Egypt, because that's what Atem literally is. I just felt like this one scene where Moses is running through the desert and removing his royal Egyptian garments would fit Atem so well that I just had to put it.**

 **By the way, saw Dark Side of Dimensions with my friends and siblings and it was fucking awesome! Especially that ending, just made everyone wanting for more. The whole theater cheered and half of the people even stayed behind during the credits, because they thought there would be a scene afterwards (If you've seen the movie already, you would understand why.) Anyways, thank you for your patience and I'm sorry for the long wait. But I promise I'll try to update chapters faster.**


	8. Chapter 8: Time Changes

**Hi everyone! It's me with another new chapter.**

 **Only fair to warn, this where the T once again kicks in, since there are mentions, a few dark scenes, overall because there an ATTEMPT RAPE scene in this! Nothing explicit, but there are some people out there who are sensitive to this kind of subject. So if you are one of those people, then don't read the part that the has the bold ()()()()()() at beginning and at the end, when you get there. You have been warned!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-OH or The Lion King. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi Walt Disney Pictures.**

* * *

Chapter 8: Time Changes

 **8 Years Later - Egypt**

As time went by, the once small prince Atem, had grown into a man over the years. No longer was he the hyperactive, feisty, yet innocent boy he was once was. Now he was grown into a more serious, mature, and decent young adult. With aging also came puberty. He had grown taller, and although still shorter than his other friends, except for Yugi, his body had developed and was more well-built and much more lean and muscular, which also with the help of his training. His meek voice had now dropped into a more mature and deep tone. His hair was still the same, with the exception that it was much bigger and that his extra golden spikes had completely grown out and slightly surpassed the rest of his blended hair in height. All in all, the prince became a handsome 18-year-old, which caused the village girls to swoon over him. To him, it was nothing new, since he was already use to this kind of attention from women. However, he and young 16-year-old Yugi soon learned from Honda and Jo that just because they didn't want to settle down for a serious relationship, didn't mean they couldn't have fun once in a while. Therefore, the four friends would sometimes go into a small pub and find their adventure for the night. Some people labeled then as the four bachelors, since neither of them ever seemed to have a serious relationship with any woman they encountered and always put their friendship before anything else. Bobassa of course wasn't included within the title, since he was practically married to his food.

The prince had lived his life to the fullest these past years, adapting to the life of the jungle, attending his training, which was soon to be complete, and just having fun with his friends and enjoying things any other young men age would, without any worries. Atem was content and happy, believing that he had finally buried the past behind him.

However, he was completely unaware of how things had become back in Egypt. As a matter of fact, things were a lot worse than anyone could have ever imagined. Since that dark day, where the light of day was never seen again, the entire kingdom began fall little by little. It all started with Aknadin letting thieves, exiled nobles, and tomb robbers take over Egypt. He had given them the authority to govern the city and collect taxes from all the civilians that inhabited there. He also brought back the law of slavery, which meant those who weren't able to pay their part or were just too poor to maintain themselves in general, were immediately stripped of their freedom and put into slavery. This was causing a huge economic problem all over Egypt and food was getting harder to buy.

But surprisingly, that wasn't even the worse part since this was nothing in comparison to what was about to occur. Aknadin had placed Bakura and the Dark Servants directly under his command, which meant they were on a higher rank than the sacred guardians themselves. They were in charge of seeing that all his new laws were being followed and if the sacred guardians wanted to make a sacred court or make any decision regarding the kingdom, they would first need Bakura's permission.

Bakura however, was allowed to do as he pleased without having to even ask Aknadin. The task of reviving the master of the Dark Servants was originally going to be put to test. The plan was to travel back to Kul Elna and gather all seven Millennium Items into their original resting place, the Millennium Stone. However, it was soon discovered that it could no longer be completed, since there were two very important things missing. They needed the Millennium Puzzle and the 8th Key. The items were to serve as the first seven keys, then there was a keyword needed.

Aknadin was furious at finding this out. He was certain that his brother had something to do with this, since he never put an eighth key when he first created the Millennium Items. The self-proclaimed pharaoh then ordered Bakura to lead a search party back to Balat and search for the Millennium Puzzle as well as disposing of the bodies of the villagers, to rid of any evidence. Despite accomplishing on ridding of the bodies, the puzzle was nowhere to be found.

Aknadin could not take it anymore and decided to do the unthinkable. The ruthless pharaoh had ordered that all the slaves and prisoners would be forced to fight each other to the death, forcing them to use their _ka_ against one another. The victor would soon have their spirit monster stripped from their body and sealed within a stone tablet, which would later be used to form his army of monsters and make Egypt the most powerful empire in the world. It was also so that it would be easier to track down the Millennium Puzzle, since the sacred guardians were unsuccessful to do so.

The situation became so bad that the guardians could no longer stand by and watch, which soon lead to a rebellion. Along with that, it seems as if the gods themselves were angered by Aknadin's actions and soon sent the worst calamities that the world has ever seen as if to punish the pharaoh and all of his empire: The Plagues of Egypt.

While the guardians battled against Aknadin and his underlings, Egypt itself began to crumple. The river turned to blood, which lead to fish dying and the people could no longer drink from the river. Frogs covered every inch of the entire palace and the rest of Egypt. Diseases killed off most of Egypt's life stock, such as cows, horses, cattle, etc. The remaining animals fled Egypt, with the exception of a few domestic animals like dogs and tamed horses. Wild animals started attacking the civilians, such as swarms of flies. Luckily, Aknadin had used the spirit monsters sealed withing the stone tablets to fend off these wild beasts. That however, didn't stop the other plagues from coming. Lice, boils, and even locusts, which ate almost every single piece of vegetation left in Egypt.

Then came a destructive calamity of thunderstorms, along with fire and hail. Buildings, statues, temples, historical landmarks, and most of the city had been destroyed. Only a few remained. This continued to spread to other cities and villages, until all of Egypt had suffered the wrath of the gods. Despite the kingdom crumbling, Bakura and his underlings were able defeat and destroy the sacred guardians, along with their followers, which caused a huge devastation among the noble families. Their children, who had almost completed their training, inherited the Millennium Items from their deceased parents, since they were the only ones who knew and were properly trained to control these items, while the Millennium Puzzle was still being searched.

And while many civilians pleaded Aknadin to help reconstruct the destroyed city and stop with ridiculous taxes as well as the slavery, Aknadin refused to do so. The once powerful kingdom of Egypt was now nothing more than a barren wasteland. It was as if the gods and life itself rejected Aknadin as the king of Egypt and therefore, condemned all of Egypt to suffer. During those 8 years, it had been a dark era for all of Egypt.

()()()()()()

Nefertiti was currently in the royal bed chambers, sitting on the bed and looking at Atem's golden crown. Today was a very special day to her, because it is the day of her son's birth. It had been the happiest day of her entire life, when she had become a mother for the first time. From that moment on, her child had become the most important person in the world along with his father. If Atem was still alive, he would have turned 18 years old today.

Just thinking about her son, made her heart ache in pain. Never in her life would she have thought that she would go through the worst pain any mother can suffer; losing a child. She had kept the crown hidden, refusing to let anyone touch it or even see it. She would only take out on Atem's day of birth and also on his death day, however on that specific day, she would always go visit Pharaoh Aknamkanon's tomb and spend the entire day there. Despite Aknadin's anger at this, he did not object to her going, since this was the only way he knew she was able endure her pain and stay strong for her people.

A few years after the declared death of Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Prince Atem and during the time of the plagues, Aknadin had decided that it was time he had a queen rule by his side. That is when he had finally proclaimed his love for Nefertiti. Of course she had completely refused at first, but after so many attempts at winning her love only to be turned down, the pharaoh had finally reached his limit. He had threatened her that if she did not accept in marrying him, then he would have take some drastic measures in hurting two people that were very important to her; Mahad and Mana.

He threatened to take away their nobility, magic, position, and liberty as civilians, then force them into the worst kind of slavery there was. Nefertiti was shocked and felt conflicted at this. She knew exactly what he was referring, since she had seen with her own eyes what Aknadin has done to the enslaved people of Egypt. Among these acts, he has permitted the thieves and bandits under his command to do with the slaves as they pleased. While being forced to do the heavy, brutal, and overall fatal tasks Aknadin had assigned, the thieves often whipped them, tortured them, and treated them worse than animals. The queen knew this was the fate that awaited both Mahad and Mana if they were forced into slavery. They would go through a living hell, especially Mana. Because being a female and with her growing beauty, she would have become an easy target for sexual pleasure. Nefertiti did not want to see them be stripped of their freedom, like many of her people were forced to and condemned to suffer for the rest of their lives.

She was not willing to let that happen. Mana and Mahad had become extremely important to her over these past years. They were the closest thing she had to her son and she had learned to care for them as if they were her own children, which helped her deal with the pain she was going through. And she knew they viewed her like a second mother, especially after Mahad's father had perished in the rebellion and Mana's then remarried and pregnant mother was sent away in the outskirts to have her child, along with a few other vulnerable civilians, mostly children. Mana was merely 12 years old and Mahad was 17 when this had occured and the apprentice had made the decision to stay behind, since she insisted on finishing her training. The queen had then promised her long-time friend that she would look after her child, though Mana still kept in contact with her through letters. Not seeing any other way out of this, she accepted.

The wedding was small and there was no celebration. Hell it would have been undignified for Aknadin to celebrate when the marriage is under blackmail and especially in the circumstances Egypt was in. Despite having to endure of staying by the side of a man who didn't even respect the memory of his own brother, at least 3 good things came out of this. Mahad and Mana were safe from his grasp, she at least kept her position as queen, so that she may have some power to be able to at least help her people in whatever she could and give them some sort of hope, and lastly, there was no intimacy between her and Aknadin. The corrupt pharaoh insisted at first, but she refused to give him that satisfaction, and if he forced her, then it would only make him a coward and his pride would be shattered at not be able to obtain her with by her own will. So he decided to leave it be. Because of this, he treated her rather coldly, which she paid no mind to. She preferred it that way.

The queen sighed as she put away the crown and decided that it was time to rest for tomorrow. She would not wait for Aknadin to come. She never did and he would never come at night anyways, since he was too busy having meeting with the Dark Servants or was forcing the prisoners and slaves to fight one another again. But just before she blew out the torches, she heard a knock on the door.

The queen narrowed her eyes, wondering who it was at this hour. She felt irritated thinking it was Aknadin at first, but then threw that idea out the window, knowing that Aknadin never knocked on the door.

"Who is it?"

"It is I, your majesty."

At the sound of the familiar voice, the queen's bitterness disappeared and smiled.

"You may come in Mahad."

The door opened and in came a very tall and muscular man. The queen observed Mahad for a moment and couldn't help, but notice how much he has grown, even surpassing her in height. His hair, which had he at let grow all the way to his waist as a teen, was cut short to his shoulders. The playful, yet dorky persona he once had was gone and had formed to a much more serious noble, much like his father and Shadi were. The Millennium Ring hanged around his, shining brightly, as if reflecting the power that the Master Magician had.

 _Nahi would have been very proud to see his son as he is today._

"Good evening Mahad. What brings you around here at this time at night?"

Mahad stood there, looking troubled. "I'm sorry for disturbing you at this hour my queen, but there is an important matter I must discuss with you. Something that worries me."

This slightly startled the queen and she immediately stood up. "Mahad, you're scaring me, please do tell. Is this about Mana? Did something happen to her?" Mahad put a hand on her shoulder, as if to calm her down.

"No. Do not worry my queen. Mana is perfectly fine. We have just returned from her training and believe me, she is just fine. What I have come to discuss has nothing to do with her."

This seemed to put Nefertiti at ease. She knew that ever since the death of both their parents, and Mahad was appointed sacred guardian, he had made the decision on taking the reigns in finishing Mana's training. He also looked after her like an older brother ever since then, just as the queen had looked after them both.

"However, the situation I need to discuss with you is very serious. It's about Isis. Her Millennium Necklace has shown her a vision of the future. And frankly this vision, with the way she described it, really has me worried about our future."

The anguish Nefertiti felt before returned to her. "Alright. Please Mahad, explain."

 **()()()()()()**

Bakura was currently in the dungeons, having just finished setting up another battle between slaves and prisoners. Normally, Aknadin would be the one to set up these occurring events. Today, however, he was out of the palace with the Dark Servants, once again, in search for the missing Millennium Puzzle. Not wanting to participate in yet another meaningless boring search, he volunteered to set up the match of today. Even though he was just as interested as Aknadin in finding that item, he knew that the puzzle wasn't lost. It had been hidden, so that they may never find it and with the way the pharaoh was handling things, without listening to reason, there was no way they would find it anytime soon.

As the guards disposed of the corpses and took the winning prisoners back to their cells so that later, they would be stripped of their _ka,_ Bakura sat in the chair Aknadin used to watch these battles take place. Now that it was over, Bakura sat in the chair, whistling in boredom. "Hmm, now what can I do to entertain myself this evening. Perhaps I should call in one of those alluring dancers to my chambers to entertain me for a while."

And while his mind drifted to his wildest fantasies he usually had before taking a woman into his bed, the thought soon became dull and unsatisfying. "But I already had all those girls before many times. And frankly, they are much too easy for my taste."

He soon stood up and walked towards the battling area, where platforms where hung by chains over a dark, endless pit. He stood at the edge, staring ahead, while his thoughts were elsewhere. He smiled wickedly as he put his fingers on his chin.

"What I need is a challenge. A woman who plays hard to get, who is fierce, who is willing to fight back, someone who has strong character, and..."

"Hey boss!"

Bakura sneered at being interrupted while speaking out his thoughts as he turned to Rex and Weevil. They were currently at the entrance, looking nervously at him. The white-haired man groaned at the sight of them. _Why do I even keep these two around? I should have disposed of them years ago._

"What do you want?!"

His outburst made them jump slightly in fear, as usual, as Weevil was next to speak. "Bakura, there is someone here to see you. I-I mean we told her that you were busy and couldn't be interrupted, but she insisted on not leaving until she could talk with you!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow.

"She? Just who is it?"

"It's that magician's apprentice!" Rex answered. "That one girl who was best friends with that bratty prince!"

Bakura seemed intrigued at this. _Mana? Well, well. It seems as if fate tends to grant all of my wishes._

A dark, sinister smirk crossed Bakura's face. "Well? What are you waiting for you nitwits?! We can't keep the lady waiting! Let her pass! And make sure that no one interrupts us!"

"Right away Bakura! I-I mean boss!"

As the dwarf thieves disappeared from his sight, he waited for around a minute, until he heard approaching footsteps. With each step getting closer, Bakura grew even more excited. _I will most definitely have one hell of a night!_

"Bakura."

At the sound of the serious, yet soft, feminine voice, he turned and saw the young magician apprentice approaching out of the darkness.

Bakura looked at Mana as she walked towards and couldn't help notice how much she has grown. While she still retained her child-like persona at times, Mana was no longer the innocent, frightened little girl he first encountered back in Kul Elna. She was now a more brave, serious, yet beautiful young woman, with much longer hair and a more developed, curvy body. Her dress was an altered version of what she wore as a child, matching her curvy figure, with her straps going off her shoulders, which showed her collarbones and made her seem much more attractive. Bakura's eyes filled with lust at the sight of such beauty before him.

As she came closer to him, Bakura immediately put an arm around her shoulders. "Why hello, sweet little Mana. You have no idea what a pleasure it is to have you here!"

Mana felt irritated and pushed off Bakura's arm as she was determined to get through with what she came for. "Bakura. What I have to tell you is serious. You must speak with Aknadin! I couldn't find him anywhere and since I know he listens to you, maybe you can go and give him my message!"

Not really paying attention to Mana's petitions, Bakura simply laughed as he walked over to his chair, grabbed the jug of wine, and poured himself a cup. Mana walked behind him, getting angry that he was not listening.

"And just what precisely is it that you want me to tell him?"

"He needs to stop this madness! Aknadin has angered the gods and because of his actions, they are punishing us! We don't have any food or water! The entire kingdom and our people are dying out! He has to do something and so do you!"

Bakura huffed. "Hah! At this point, I could care less what happens to any of you. And lately, he and I have been going our separate ways in terms of ruling this kingdom. He hardly listens to me anymore and vice versa. There is nothing I can do."

Mana was reaching her breaking point, but refused to give up. Bakura, however, loved to see her get angry and feisty. It just made her even more alluring. He reached closer to her.

"But aren't you listening?! If we don't do something to stop this, everyone is going to die! If he really was the pharaoh and you were really ruling our precious kingdom, neither of you would have let this happen and- ah!"

Mana felt Bakura's grip pull her arm and swung her around, before pushing her onto the chair. Surprised, she immediately tried to get up, but was blocked with Bakura hovering over her. "Mana, Mana, please stop with this nonsense. There is nothing to be done about this situation. Why don't you stop wasting your time, worrying about something so pointless and enjoy a cup of wine with me?"

The apprentice could not take it anymore and angrily knocked the cup of wine out of Bakura's hands, the liquid splashing all over the floor. "You know what? You, Aknadin, and the rest of those vandals are despicable, vile beings! I don't even know why I thought I could convince you to have that monster do something to help our kingdom, when you are just as bad as he is! I'm obviously wasting my time, so I'll be leaving!"

Mana tried to get up off the chair, but Bakura grabbed her and forced her back onto the chair. Mana struggled through his strong grip but to no avail. "W-what are you doing Bakura?! Let me go!"

She continued to struggle only for Bakura to tighten his grip and push himself more on top of her. "Why do you want to leave so soon, my sweet Mana? The real fun is just about to begin."

"What are you t-talking about-!" Mana froze as the look on Bakura's face made her shiver. His smile dark, twisted smile was plastered on his face while his eyes were filled with a sinister intent, along with lust and desire.

Bakura then neared his face close to her ear and whispered. "Over the years, you have blossomed into a very beautiful woman Mana. Untouched by man. However tonight, I'll finally have my way with you. But don't worry, I'll make your first time one unforgettable experience."

Mana immediately knew what he was referring to and was now afraid. But she refused to show any kind fear in front of this thief, so she continued to resist. Bakura simply laughed at her attempts.

"Stop it! Get off of me!"

"You're a feisty one aren't you? Just what I expected from you and just what I wanted! A real challenge!"

He then reached down and kissed her neck, while trying to slide down the straps of her dress. But just before he could go any further, Mana fortunately managed to break free one of her legs and kicked him right between his legs.

"Argh!" Bakura knelt down in pain as Mana push him off and immediately took her wand out of her shoe, before pointing it to him threatening. Bakura was still on his knees, clenching his crotch in pain. "Why you little tramp!"

He struggled to move closer to her, until he noticed her wand was being pointed towards him. This made him smile and chuckle. "Oh Mana. You definitely are fierce. I like it."

"Get away from me!" Mana aggressively pressed the wand against his chest. She began to walk towards him with her wand, threatening him to move aside so that her path was clear. And while there was no fear in his expression, but rather one of amusement, he decided to move back until he was completely out of her way. Seeing him move, Mana walked slowly towards the exit, but never turning her back on Bakura with her wand still pointed towards him. He simply laughed at reckless courage.

"Alright Mana. Fine. Go if you want." Once she was a good distance away from him, Mana turned and dashed out of the dungeons.

"Run while you still can!" He screamed out towards the exit, his voice echoing in the hallways. His eyes went dark, his smile never faltering. "Because in the end, I always get what I want."

 **()()()()()()**

Queen Nefertiti and Priest Mahad were currently with Priestess Isis in the lounge, where the sacred guardians usually are when they wanted peace and quiet.

"So what you are saying is that there is still more disasters that await Egypt? Are you sure that is what you saw?" Isis nodded.

"Yes, my queen. But I'm afraid this time, these unfortunate events that are soon to come are far more dangerous than what we have endured for the past 8 years. And what I fear is according to what I saw, these events will not only affect Egypt, but the whole world."

The queen gasped as her hand topped her mouth in shock. While Mahad still maintained his serious expression, he grabbed Isis's hand in comfort. "Isis, we need you tell us if there is anything in your vision, anything specific that you believe may be the cause to all this and if there's anything there that can certainly help us."

Isis hesitated for a moment, not knowing if she should reveal that specific information. What she saw seemed like some sort of miracle, but at the same time, she knew it was impossible. "Well... there is something, but I can't say for sure if there is any relevance to reveal this, as I can be sure it is impossible, but... my Millennium Necklace has never been wrong before."

Nefertiti could clearly see there was a glint of hope in Isis's eyes. "Isis please tell us. We must know every single detail, so that we may prepare for the future." Knowing the queen was right, Isis sighed and decided to reveal the truth. "Very well then my queen. Within my vision, among these events that are about to occur, I saw the Millennium Puzzle." This alerted both Mahad and Nefertiti.

"The Millennium Puzzle?! You mean the puzzle has been found, or at least is going to be?!"

"Yes. And it seems this last missing Millennium Item will play a great role when these events are to happen. But what intrigued me the most is that the puzzle was at first broken in pieces. Then there was a scene were someone was putting the puzzle back together. However, it isn't shown at all who is doing it. But in the next scene, the puzzle was completed and the person wearing the puzzle... I couldn't believe it when I saw him!"

The queen and the magician looked at one another in thought, as they feared the worst. Mahad breathed as he prepared to ask her who it was.

"Who was it Isis? Was it Aknadin... or was it Bakura?" They had been certain it was either one of them, since they were the most intent on searching for item, but to their surprise, Isis shook her negatively. Now they were even more confused.

"Judging by the physique, this man in my vision was too young to be either of them. But that's not the only reason why. The man's face wasn't clearly shown in my vision, but what shocked me the most about him... was his hair."

Now Mahad was completely lost, especially since Isis would consider something as trivial as someone's hair an important fact.

"What's wrong with hair then?" Isis paused for a moment before continuing.

"Even though it was only for a moment, I managed to get a glimpse of it. It was colored with red, black, and yellow and appeared to have stood up..."

Isis stopped for a moment, seeing both Nefertiti and Mahad seemed shocked, trying to process the information she had given.

"He was tri-colored... wait a minute Isis, it can't be! There is only one person in the world I know who has had hair like that!"

The priestess stayed silent as Nefertiti felt anguish yet a glint of of hope in her heart. "It was Atem wasn't it?! It has to be my son! Please Isis, tell me it was him!"

Mahad held onto the queen, trying to stop her from over stressing herself. "Please my queen, you must calm down! As much as it pains me to tell you, we must all remember that Prince Atem was declared dead, along with our pharaoh, who may rest in peace. Aknadin even brought his crown and the corpse of his father, which proves it. Therefore, it is impossible for this to be true."

Nefertiti then placed her hand towards her heart. "Well Mahad, as strange as it sounds, even after Atem had been declared and even though I suffered and even believed it, deep down, something in my heart always made me doubt that. And now with this vision that Isis has shown us, that doubt is now stronger than ever before."

"I understand that your majesty, but we cannot guarantee this part of the vision to be true. As much as I would love for our prince to be alive, we cannot allow ourselves to be misguided by false hope. I suggest we focus on the operative, which is to prepare for these upcoming disasters."

Nefertiti bowed her head in sadness, but nodded in agreement, knowing Mahad was right. Isis followed her motion.

"And as for now, I suggest we keep information just between us. I don't want to alert the others, until I have gathered enough information on this. We also can't risk this information reaching Aknadin, Bakura, or any of their allies."

Again, the two women agreed with the priest.

"Alright, now we must focus on-"

"Mahad!"

At being interrupted, Mahad and the others turned to the source of the outburst. Mana was seen running coming towards them, her face being pale and small tears at the edge of her eyes. The poor girl looked like she had just seen a ghost.

"Mana what are you-" once again, he was interrupted as the reckless girl crashed onto the priest with her arms wrapped around his waist. Her body shook slightly.

"Master Mahad, you have to help me! Something terrible almost happened to me and I, oh I promise I only did it because I wanted to help! I just couldn't stand by and watch as they destroyed our home and-"

Mahad simply untangled her arms around him and made her look at him. "Mana I'm not understanding you. Please calm down and tell me what happened."

Mana seemed to still be in a panicked state, as she was having trouble breathing, until Nefertiti reached for her and wrapped her hands on her shoulders in comfort, before guiding her to sit down. The young apprentice managed to calm down as the queen held still held onto to her.

"Alright dear, tell us what happened."

The girl inhaled and began to tell them everything. The reactions of the women were ones of horror and worry, while Mahad's was one of anger.

"That bastard... But Mana, are you sure you're alright and that he didn't hurt you in any way?!" Mahad was looking intently in her eyes.

"No master. I was able to defend myself pretty well. But I fear that he will come after me again! And what I'm worried is that he might manipulate laws to his convenience so that nothing can prevent him from getting to me!"

Mahad shook his head in frustration and anger at the situation. "My gods. But Mana, why?! I specifically told you not to get involved! And you going to face Bakura alone was foolish! You put your life in danger and that monster almost..." The priest clenched his fists in anger, refusing to finish his sentence as the very idea alone was revolting enough.

Isis placed her hands on Mahad's back in comfort as he looked back at her. Her eyes were filled with concern and compassion. "Mahad, I know you're upset, but please try to understand Mana. She is just as worried as we are about our people. All she wanted to do was help. Being her place, I'm positive any of us would have acted the same way."

The priest sighed, trying his best to tame his anger. "I understand that, but we all know the way Bakura is. When he is prevented in getting what he was wants the first time, it immediately becomes his obsession and is capable of moving earth and water, until he finally claims it. We cannot take the chance and allow him to get ahead of us."

Mahad immediately stood up from his kneeling position, his fists clenched in anger.

"I'll personally make sure he pays for his first offense against Mana. We cannot allow such a cowardly act to go unpunished."

Mana panicked and grabbed Mahad's arm. "No Master Mahad! Please don't! If you fight Bakura, you'll get into very serious trouble or worse, you'll be killed! I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me!"

Both Nefertiti and Isis sided with Mana, as Isis pleaded him. "Please Mahad. Mana is right. We cannot handle this situation by acting out of impulse. If we do, we'll be falling right into Bakura's game and we must handle this situation with cautiousness."

"Mahad, Isis is right. We must think of another solution one that does not have grave consequences for anyone. Please, let us not be rash about this."

Mahad stood there, debating whether to listen to reason or let his instincts and anger take over him. After a mental in battling with his thoughts and emotions, he finally gave into reason, though the urge to murder the Thief King was still there buried within him.

After everyone agreed and settled down, both the Millennium Ring and the Millennium Necklace started shining brightly all a sudden. The ring's thorns even lifted themselves up and pointed towards the exit.

"Aknadin has returned. My Millennium Necklace senses his Millennium Eye."

"So does my ring."

"I know this may sound like a crazy idea, but I think we should really inform Aknadin of this. The very least he could do is keep his dog on a leash."

Nefertiti the stood by the magician's side. "Mahad, let me tell Aknadin the situation here. Perhaps if he hears the situation from me, we have a higher chance of convincing him and protecting Mana."

Mahad thought about it for a split second before agreeing. "Thank you my queen."

At this, Isis and Mana looked at one another smiling, before the priestess put her hands on the girl's shoulders with reassurance.

They immediately walked out of the lounge and headed towards the hallway. The four nobles hurriedly walked from hallway to hallway, the Millennium Items leading them towards a conference room, that Aknadin used only when he wanted to discuss something very important and very descreet with his underlings. Everyone assumed he was planning something very malevolent, since he didn't want anyone else to know and the throne wasn't exactly a private place anymore. While they were right and that it must be the reason why he was searching for the Millennium Puzzle so desperately, they knew not for what purpose. Aknadin had not told them the reason the Dark Servants are here for.

However, while no one was allowed inside the conference room while Aknadin is having a meeting, not even a sacred guardian, this time nothing was stopping Mahad.

"I order you to stand aside." Mahad was trying his best to control his patience, but the guard was being stubbornly. "I am sorry Master Mahad, but you know that no one is allowed inside this room while Pharaoh Aknadin is having a meeting."

The magician clenched his fists his anger, the little patience he had, slipping away. "I could care less what he's doing! What I have to tell him is very serious! Now you will move aside or so help me I'll-"

He felt a hand grab his shoulder slightly pulling him back. He turned around and saw Isis giving him a concerned look, as if telling him to calm down.

"Look Master. There is nothing I can do. These are our pharaoh's orders and I must-"

"Enough." Everyone turned to the queen at the sound of her voice sound so commanding and serious. "By my order, I demand you move aside and let us though. I can assure that the pharaoh will not object in seeing me. I am _his_ queen after all." The way she emphasized that last sentence could clearly be heard a hint of disgust and resentment.

The guard blinked before nodding nervously. "Y-yes my queen.

As soon as he opened the doors, Mahad immediately busted in with the three women following behind. At the very end, there was a large table where Aknadin was sitting at the very end, Bakura sitting next to him, and the Dark Servants sitting across from one another. At the sight of Thief King, the hatred within Mahad's eyes intensified, but was holding himself back. Aknadin immediately got off his chair, completely outraged.

"What is the meaning of this Mahad?! How dare you interrupt me in the middle of a very important meeting?!"

Ignoring Aknadin's annoyance, the priest went straight to the point. "What I have to tell you could not wait. But it'll be quick and with no trouble, if you agree."

The former priest folded his arms in annoyance.

"Agree on what?"

Mahad then angrily pointed his finger at Bakura in a threatening manner. "Agree that you'll keep that filthy scoundrel away from my apprentice!"

Aknadin seemed somewhat surprised at this, then looking at Bakura in confusion. The thief didn't really seemed fazed about this at all. His expression was rather passive, but with a slight smirk on his face. "I am not understanding you. Explain yourself."

"Aknadin." Nefertiti spoke up before Mahad had the chance. "Bakura earlier tried to take advantage of Mana back in the dungeons. As you can see, an act like this cannot be be ignored. I suggest that you find some sort of punishment for Bakura or if you cannot, at the very least, order him to keep himself completely away from her."

Bakura only scoffed at the mention of Aknadin _ordering_ him around, despite the queen's demand. The pharaoh looked at her for a second, letting it sink in, before looking back at Bakura.

"Thief King, is this true?"

The said thief shrugged his arms, while rolling his eyes again. "Yes, but the "innocent" little magician girl was the one who asked for it. She was the one who came to me, therefore she was the one who wanted me to."

"WHAT! That is a complete lie!" Mana became furious and offended, that she wanted to tackle the white-heard man, but was held back by Mahad. She kept kicking and struggling in his grip, while the thief just held a smug look on his face "Bakura! Tell the truth! You know the perfectly the reason well why I went to see you! Agh! Let me go, Mahad!"

"Mana, would you please calm down!"

"ENOUGH!"

Everyone stopped and silently turned to Aknadin. The magician apprentice was broken out of her rage-fit, which ensured her teacher to put her down. Once everything was calm and silent, everyone waited as the pharaoh thought silently. After a minute, he smiled and turned to the queen and finally spoke.

"Alright Nefertiti. I will agree to this request of yours, Bakura will not be allowed to be anywhere near Mana..." The four nobles were surprised and began to slightly feel relieved. "Under one condition of course."

Of course, knowing Aknadin, there had to be a catch. Mahad clenched his fists in anger, knowing the corrupt man was taking advantage of the situation in order to get something in return from them. Nefertiti shared Mahad's thoughts as she gritted her teeth. "And what is that condition?"

Aknadin chuckled. "It's very simply. You all know of my right-hand man, Priest Seto."

The four nobles looked at each other in surprise at the mention of Seto. Of course they knew him. They also knew that for some reason, he has been favored by Aknadin a lot ever since he was brought to the palace and has been trained by him to become a priest. And since the proclaimed death of both the previous pharaoh and his son, he had treated Seto as if he were part of the royal family. No one understood why, but despite the fact the special attentions Aknadin had with Seto, he secretly still remained loyal to the queen and his other colleagues, including Mahad. Still, they didn't understand what he had anything to do with this.

"Alright I will explain myself. You all know that I have taken Seto under my wing, ever since he was here. Therefore, I will do anything I deem will be best for him. But recently however, he was been acting more reluctant and I've discovered he has had a certain _distraction_ lately."

Everyone except Nefertiti didn't seem to have a clue of what he was talking about. Getting impatient of so much storytelling, Mahad spoke up. "Aknadin, would you please get to the point already?!"

"I suggest you watch your tongue and how you speak towards me Mahad. You may have been able to get away with it as a child, when my brother was around, but I'm pharaoh now, and you will give me the respect I deserve and refer to me as pharaoh. Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences."

The magician glared towards Aknadin with anger and hatred, almost scoffing at the mention of giving him respect he claimed he "deserved", when he obviously didn't.

"As I was saying, in order to rid him of this distraction for good, I've decided to arrange a marriage for him. He obviously knows not of this, so I forbid any of you revealing the news to him."

They all stayed silent, a way to show that they weren't disagreeing with him, nor agreeing. "As you can see, I have full trust in Seto's abilities and over the time he has proven himself worthy for an even higher rank in this kingdom, which is why… I've decided to make him my heir for the throne."

The entire room filled with gasps, not believing what they just heard. The four nobles in particular were even more shocked at how Aknadin was abusing his authority. They knew Aknadin had always favored Seto, but never to this extent.

"Aknadin! That is preposterous! Even if you are pharaoh, that does not mean you have the right to abuse your power!" Nefertiti was furious. This man was literally tainting the memory of his brother and of her own son. "Seto may be valuable in all those aspects as a person and a loyal servant, but he is not of royal blood and cannot take the place of _my_ son! It is completely disgraceful that you would make such a choice! Even Seto himself would agree if he were here!"

Aknadin could only smile. _If only you knew my dear._

"Nefertiti, I am growing old and do not have any other heir to carry on my reign. That, you know perfectly well you are to blame for. And as for your son, Atem is no longer in this world, thus bringing him into this is completely irrelevant. But Seto is like the son I had always wanted and he has made me so proud, that he deserves to be the next pharaoh! And it is precisely why I must save him from himself in order to secure his future. Therefore, I have decided to find him a bride…"

Sensing the change of topic once more, everyone stayed silent and listened intently, preparing for. "Seto needs someone of nobility, someone that can measure up to his high stature. Someone who is able to rule by his side as his queen when the time comes. However, obtaining a bride with all of those qualities is highly difficult, especially in the situation Egypt is in."

 _Which is YOUR fault!_ Mahad screamed mentally, but silently kept only a powerful gaze. Aknadin then turned his stare towards the young apprentice. This made Mana shiver slightly.

"And that is where you come in Mana."

Everyone stared at him with shock and disbelief, knowing exactly where this was heading to. Mana gripped onto her master's robes as Mahad grew even more outraged than he already was.

"That is the only condition I put. Mana is already of nobility and with you training her to become a Master Magician, she would make the perfect candidate for a queen. Of course, since her mother has disappeared years ago and with you being her guardian and teacher Mahad, I would find it appropriate for you to make this decision."

"Absolutely not! Not only because I will not allow you to use Mana as a tool for your sick plans, but also because I know Seto would never agree to this and forcing them to marry would only condemn them both to suffer!"

The pharaoh sighed in annoyance as he got off his chair once more. "Tch, tch, tch. Very unwise choice. Oh well then, if that is your answer then I guess I have no choice, but to strip you of any authority you have over her. And thus, I will allow the Thief King to have Mana to do what he pleases with her."

Immediately Mahad pushed Mana behind him in a protective manner, while he stood his ground in a threatening stance. Both Queen Nefertiti and Isis stood by him, reacting the same way.

"Over my dead body will I that scum lay his filthy hands on my apprentice..." The magician's threat was dark and menacing, showing that he was in a position where he was ready to kill in order to protect Mana. This alerted Bakura and his minions, causing them to get up and bring out their weapons. Aknadin simply chuckled as he sat back down in his chair.

"Well if you'really really that desperate, then I suppose that can be arranged..."

"Aknadin! Stop this! You know what you are doing is wrong! Are you willing to sink even lower than you already have?!"

Although the queen's word stung Aknadin's heart, it did not show on his cynical expression. "I am sorry my dear, but I'm afraid your opinion no longer matters to me. Things would have been very different if you would have been more accepting of our union, but you chose it this way. Besides, I'm only looking out for the greater good of Egypt." He then reverted his attention back to Mahad.

"Now Mahad I recommend you settle down and not make things even worse. Just hand over Mana to Bakura and we can end this ridiculous predicament. Unless of course, you decide now to reconsider our deal."

Mahad's narrowed in a threatening gaze as he summoned diadhank, threatening them that he would not go down without a fight. The magician then began to focus all his energy into his _heka_. "Come forth, my Illusion Magician!"

Everyone was startled as the dark aura around Mahad separated from and formed into a humanoid creature. As it finished forming, it turned out to be an unknown figure that had no face, with the exception of bright, glowing eyes. The faceless creature, however, was dressed in royal, dark-purple magician clothing with a green staff. The creature then pointed its staff towards Aknadin and his underlings. They were all immediately startled by his action, not expecting him to go this far for his apprentice. His next action didn't even give them time to react.

He called out his attack and the creature then shot a bolt of dark energy towards the pharaoh and his minions. At the very last minute, they managed to dodge just in time. But the attack destroy part of the wall behind them, causing rubble and smoke to spread all over the place. Knowing they would take a moments to come back from the impact, Mahad decided to use the smoke as a diversion.

He then turned towards the women behind him. "My queen, Isis, get Mana out of the palace, now!"

This shocked all of them, especially Isis and Mana. "But Mahad, what about you?!"

"I'll hold them back, while you help Mana escape! Just leave this to me!"

"NO!" Mana exclaimed and tried to run towards him, but was held back by Nefertiti, who kept pulling her away. "Master, we can't just leave you here!"

"Mana, this is not matter of choice!. Now do as I say and go! I already told you I will be fine!"

The young apprentice still struggled to stay by her Master's side, but the queen managed to pull her towards the exit in a rush. "We must go child. Have faith in what your master tells you."

"But, my master, we can't just-" Despite her reluctance, the insistence of the queen made Mana let herself get taken away, as she was forced to run with the queen. Right before Isis ran with them, she looked back at the magician with worry, but along with awe and admiration.

"Mahad..."

"Isis, please go! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Just take care of our queen and Mana for me!"

The priestess stood for a split second, before her face showed one of determination and nodded, before running out of the room.

()()()()()()

Nefertiti, Isis, and Mana finally managed to make it to the stables, where all the horses were being kept. Nefertiti guided Mana to the white horse, that at one point belonged to Atem. Ever since the prince's proclaimed death, Mana made it her responsibility to care and nurture for the animal with her life. She knew how much this horse meant to Atem, since it was a gift from his father and it was one of the few things she had left of her childhood friend.

Isis, too jumped on her own as the queen then gave them a few supplies for their journey. To their surprise, the queen had also stated that she would stay behind and handle the situation. They had protested at first, thinking it was completely suicidal and worried for their queen's safety. But then she explained that no matter what would happen, Aknadin would never harm her physically or allow anyone else to. She also stated that that even though nothing would prevent Mahad from being prosecuted, due the magnitude of the situation, she can at least prevent him from being executed. Even if it was only temporary, until they returned with reinforcements in order to stop the evil forces that have taken over the kingdom. Despite the reluctance they felt at leaving her behind, both women trusted their queen and also knew that Mahad's fate now currently rested in her hands.

At the same time, a guard caught sight of them and alerted the others. Nefertiti bid them farewell and they hastily rode off into the night of the desert. While Isis held onto her Millennium Necklace, Mana held onto her golden moon amulet, both praying to the gods and to kings in the afterlife for Mahad and the queen safety's, hoping for a miracle in their quest.

()()()()()()

The celebration for young Atem's 18th birthday had lasted from the afternoon, through the entire night. Jo, Yugi, and Honda had done an excellent job in preparing it without him knowing. Everyone in the village knew as well and also took part in it. They had made and brought different kinds of food, which Bobassa had managed to devour most, leaving no leftovers. Still there was more than enough food to leave everyone full. Atem had gotten many presents. They weren't pricey or anything, but the prince felt touched and appreciated their act of kindness.

Sensei Ishida, the man who has been training him for the past few years to not only control his _heka_ , but also teaching him hand-to-hand combat, martial arts, and swordsman ship, had decided to reward him with his very own katana. He had already given Yugi, Honda and Jo their own a few days before without the prince's knowledge, but decided to wait until this very specific day to give Atem's as the perfect present, along with the news that he and his other three friends would need them for their final test of their training. The prince felt very proud of himself at that moment. The festivity lasted through most of the day, with everyone eating, drinking, and mingling. Yugi in particular had been currently entranced by a young, beautiful female gypsy named Teana, who happened to be Egyptian, but left her home country as a toddler. She had just arrived to the village the day before with other gypsies and Yugi seemed to have fallen completely under her spell. His friends decided to let it be, thinking that Yugi was still young and was still learning about women and relationships. Though they had warned him to be careful, since gypsies have a reputation for being devious schemers and they didn't want their friend getting hurt. As a result, everyone was having a great time. But just like all good parties, it had come to an end.

Right after it ended and most of the guests left back into their homes, the five friends decided to head back into the jungle. Outside of their home, which was close to the pathway that lead to the desert, but still resided deep within the jungle, they laid comfortably on the grass, looking up at sky full of stars. They were exhausted, but happy from celebrating and were also very full from eating. As they lay there, they were currently drinking their last mug of beer as their own private celebration in Atem's honor.

"Cheers!" The men clinked their mugs together, before laying back down on their side and chugging the beer down in one drink. Atem soon finished his first, before burping loudly, a sign that his appetite was satisfied for the night.

The other look at him impressed, before Jo commented. "Wow, nice one Atem."

"Thank you Jo. Now I'm definitely stuffed!"

Bobassa laughed. "Me too."

Atem seemed astonished at this, but smiled. "Really? Well, that's a surprise. I've never thought that I would hear that from you one day."

Yugi soon joined. "Well, you know guys. There's a first time for everything."

They all laughed at his joke, before sighing with relaxation and continued to look back at the stars. There was a moment of peace and silence, with them just enjoying the cool, night air.

"Hey Honda?" Jo called out to his brunette friend.

"Yeah?"

"You know, have you eva wondered where do stars come from, how they were created, or how the hell do they even stay up there?"

Honda looked dumbfounded for a moment before answering. "Nope. Why do you ask?"

Jo shrugged. "Nothing really? Just curious. I mean they seem so majestic, so extraordinary, you know. It makes me wonder that if we were actually able to reach up high enough into the sky, would we be able to grab it? Or would it be still out of our reach?"

"I don't know Jo, but there is a theory I heard when I was a kid. Mom told me that the stars that actually move, which are called shooting stars, if you happen to see one, you make a wish on it, and the wish would come true."

"Wow, that sounds really cool, even though it seems a bit far-fetched."

The others chuckled, while Honda looked annoyed and challenged.

"Oh yeah! Well if you think my idea is silly, why don't you tell us your theory then hotshot?!"

Once he calmed his chuckling, Jo looked up at the stars once more. "Well I personally think the stars were put there for a reason."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean they are part of nature, but nature itself has a way of having exactly what we need to live and survive. I think the stars exist to help us out. I remember when we were on our way here, the people who traveled with would use the stars to help navigate where we were going. If we didn't have stars to guide us, there's no way we would be here."

Everyone stayed quiet in thought before Honda went back to his conversation with Jo. "You know, now that I think about it, I also remember seeing that too, when we were still traveling. But man, I never would have thought of it that way. Wow, Jo you are definitely a lot smarter than you look."

"Oh shut it, wise guy!" The blonde then turned to Yugi. "Now it's your turn Yuge."

"Yeah Yugi, come on give us your opinion on this."

Yugi couldn't help but blush a little and smiled. "I can't really say I have an opinion on anything regarding where the stars came from... what I did notice is that back in France, a lot of couples like to look at the stars alone at night. They seemed so happy together and I honestly couldn't help but find it romantic. I know it sounds cheesy and stuff, but again, the French are known to be very romantic, so it's not surprising they would find looking at the stars romantic."

The others exchanged devious looks and snickered before Jo elbowed Yugi playfully in the stomach. " Man Yuge , I've never heard sound so, I don't know... _romantic_. Are you sure this has nothing to do with that girl you were flirting with back at the party? Maybe that's why you're acting like this, eh?"

The look on Jo's face and the giggling of the others caused Yugi to blush madly in embarrassment. "W-What?! No I- that's not it at all!"

Honda gave him the same look Jo had given him earlier. "Sure Yugi, sure."

Hearing the sarcasm and mocking in his voice, Yugi decided rid of this embarrassing attention. "You know what, forget it! Why don't we ask now what Bobassa thinks? I'm pretty sure he wants to share with us now."

While the chuckling died down a bit, everyone turned to Bobassa.

The large man rubbed his belly in satisfaction, before smiling and looking at the sky. "Well back in my home village. There is was an old man that believed the stars are actually large, but very large balls of fire and gas, even larger than this world, but that happen to be many, many miles away from here, which is why they look so small. And also that the sun happens to be a star as well, but looks bigger because it is much closer to us. But no one in the village believed him and thought he was insane."

Honda and Jo exchanged dumbfounded looks at one another.

"Well they aren't wrong. I mean I highly doubt something like that is possible."

"Well as a small child, I did indeed believe it, but now I am not sure what to believe. There are so many mysteries about these stars that are yet to be discovered."

Jo nodded in agreement. "True be that."

"Yep."

Once they were done agreeing, they all turned to Atem, who had been awfully quiet this entire time, just staring intently at the stars.

"So Atem. You're the only one left. Tell us what you think."

At hearing his name mentioned, the prince snapped out of his trance, as the question sank in. He hesitated for a moment. "Oh... I don't know really... it doesn't matter either way."

"Oh come on Atem!" Honda exclaimed. "Don't give us that!"

"Yeah! We know you have an opinion just like the rest of us. We shared ours with you, so can't ya share with us?"

"Atem, you know we're your friends right? You can tell us anything."

"Please my little friend?"

Even though he hesitated at first, they continued to nag and beg him, until Atem finally gave in. "Well... back in Egypt, someone once told me that the stars in the skies are actually the great pharaohs from the past... watching over us.

Everyone stayed quiet once more.

"You mean the stars are a bunch of dead guys who are watching us?" Jo looked at the sky for a mere split second before he burst out laughing, with Honda laughing with him. Bobassa simply laughed just for the sake of laughing with his friends. Yugi was the only who remained silent, not finding it appropriate to laugh at someone else's opinion.

"Bwuahahaha, who-who ever told you something so dumb?! Man that's good one!"

Atem pretended to laugh with them, even though he really couldn't find it funny himself. "Heh, heh, yes pretty silly right."

"Ha, ha! My gosh! I haven't heard something as ridiculous as that in a long time. Kings in the stars..."

Their laughing began to die down as Atem then looked back at the stars. Watching them and remembering what his father had once told him when he was a child, the memory made his chest ache in pain. He needed to be alone for a while.

He quietly got up and headed off towards way where the desert was. The group was stunned and confused at their friend's sudden departure. They all assumed he had been offended by Jo's comments and their mocking.

"Was it what I said?" Instead of an answer, Jo felt someone knock him on the head really hard.

"OW!" The blonde rubbed his head in pain.

"You moron! Look what you did now! You made Atem feel bad!" Honda had his fist clenched which he used to punch Jo.

The blonde soon became furious as his face turned red. "Like you're the one to talk! You were laughing with me just a while ago, you hypocrite!"

They soon began play-wrestle on the grass, while throwing insults at one another. Bobassa was going to try and stop them, until he heard his stomach growl. The huge man immediately forgot about his task, took some food he snagged away from the party and happily ate away. Yugi sighed and just laid on the grass calmly, while ignoring the two bickering friends. They always behaved like this anyway. "This is going to be a long night..."

()()()()()()

Atem finally made it to the border between the desert and the jungle. He stood at the edge of a stone cliff, which was only a few feet above the desert ground.

The prince continued to look out into the distance, where the stars shined beautifully into the night. Atem felt the memories of his past, the same past he tried to bury and forget with all his might, come back to him in a flash. Most of these memories revolved around one person.

 _Father..._

The pain and guilt soon filled him and caused the aching in his heart to increase. He clenched onto the golden sun amulet around his neck as he felt tired and dizzy from everything. Not really trying to fight it, he let himself fall backwards onto the soft grass full of flowers and dandelions. As Atem laid there resting, the petals of the flowers he had fallen were taken off by the wind and into the night.

()()()()()()

The very next few mornings, the very same petals continued to travel within the wind. It continued on, never stopping, even reaching outside and near the boundaries of Egypt. The wind also seemed to have managed to pass through some invisible barrier, which seemed to keep outsiders from coming through. The moment it did, a cabin appeared up ahead that wasn't visible before. The wind and the petals reached the cabin passing through, until an elderly hand suddenly reached up and snatched the petals out of mid-air. At the same time, the wind seemed to have stop traveling, but was still very present within the air.

Inspecting closely the petals in his hand, Shimon gave a curious, yet intrigued look into the sky. He then went back inside his cottage and put the petals within a bowl. Then he mixed them with a couple of potions, until he was completely finished. The elder man then put the bowl in front of him, held out his hands straightforward and closed his eyes. Focusing all his energy, he began the ritual. As Shimon mumbled his chant, a vision appeared before him.

 _A young man, around his mid-late teen years, with wild, tri-colored haired, looking out into the night. His expression appeared sad and tired, before he fell backwards into the grass full of flowers, causing the petals to take off into the wind._

Shimon opened his eyes wide with shock, not believing what he had just saw. It seemed unbelievable to him. He then looked into the bowl, realizing the petals he had just brewed were the same ones from his vision. Then remembering the young man, who looked exactly like the young Prince Atem, he looked back to the wall, where the smudged doodle of the prince he drew many years ago was.

As realization dawned him, happiness began to spread all over his face. "He's alive..."

Looking out into the window, he saw the wind blowing stronger than ever before. Knowing that this was a sign from the late Pharaoh Aknamkanon, he completely confirmed that his prayers have been answered.

"HE'S ALIVE!" The old man jumped with joy, as he laughed and excitedly began to pack his things, such as clothes, potions, etc. Now that he knew his nephew was very much alive, he must find him and bring back the _true_ heir to Egypt's throne, in order to make everything right again. Knowing the Prince-

 _No! He is not a prince anymore. He is now Pharaoh Atem. And soon, he must return to Egypt and take his place as such._

Once Shimon finished packing his bags, the old man opened a huge wooden trunk and took out a dusty diadhank. Rubbing off the dust of the golden object and putting it inside his bag, he laughed with happiness before turning towards the wall, where the drawing of Atem as a baby was.

"It is time!"

* * *

 **Alright! Another chapter finished and another pairing confirmed! By the way, if you guys know about the history behind the 10 Plagues of Egypt, the reason why I didn't include the final plague was for obvious reasons. I mean the death of the first born of Egypt would mean I would be sentencing a lot of important characters to die, especially Seto and Atem. And I REALLY didn't feel like coming up with an explanation as to why the plague didn't kill them or blah, blah, blah. It would take too much space into the story and would make an unnecessary subplot. So I thought it was best not to include it at all. But I thought the very idea of the plagues was a perfect way to explain how Egypt crumbled under Aknadin's reign and the gods using them to punish Aknadin for abusing his power. Though, I can't help find it ironic how in my story, the Egyptian gods are the ones who bring the plagues, while in Christianity and in Ancient Egyptian history, it was God who brought the plagues upon all of Egypt, thus proving the Egyptian gods powerless.**

 **And about the attempt rape scene. That was based off the deleted scene of The Lion King, where Scar has some perverted advances on Nala. However, I decided to use Bakura for this because he's more likely capable of. And although Aknadin was power-hungry enough to betray his own family, I honestly can't see him doing something like, plus that would be extremely creepy. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. Gross.**

 **But yeah, this just fiction, so there's nothing wrong with twisting around a few facts here and there. Now, let's get to the point for next chapter. A lot of more revelations, character reunions, romance, fluff, but also passionate scenes will happen. If you watched the Lion King, then you know already have an idea what's going to happen, but like I said, I'm putting in my own ideas. Again, thank you all who have reviewed followed, and favored my story! For the question of the day, what do you think is going to happen to Mahad? Will he win or at least survive this battle? Or has his fate already come to an end? I'll let you guys think about for a few days. Until the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: Childhood Sweethearts

**Yes! Finally made it to this chapter. I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long time now! And after all the hardwork, such as developing characters and making them grow both in personality wise and physically, unraveling some of the plot, making characters suffer, killing off characters and all that dark stuff, we finally come to a chapter where a lot of love and comedy will happen. But mostly love. I really needed this chapter, because I needed to write something happy to get over the horrifying episodes of Attack on Titan Season 2. My brothers started watching it again, so they kinda got me into it too. My god, I've been mentally scarred and traumatized, mainly with what happened to Mike. Oh poor Mike, it was just horrible! It's gonna take me a while to get over that! But let's put that aside and continue on the main point.  
**

 **I'm warning you guys that while there will be fluff, there will also be scenes this will get steamy and a lot of passion. Nothing too explicit or lemony, because I need to maintain rating. But there will be mentions and references of lovemaking. If you watched the scene _Can You Feel The Love Tonight_ In The Lion King (which I'm pretty sure all of you did), then you know exactly where this is going. Because while it wasn't shown that Simba and Nala did anything, it was heavily implied that they did. I mean that look Nala gave him... well we know what she thinking.  
**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Yu-Gi-OH or The Lion King. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi Walt Disney Pictures.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Childhood Sweethearts

It was near the middle of raw daylight, and the boys had just finished their final test of their training that Master Ishida. First it had been swordsmanship, in which they each had faced against their sensei in a duel.

Each of them had successfully passed the basics and more enhanced tactics. But the only ones who were able to actually defeat Ishida by calling it yield, thus proving they had actually surpassed their teacher in swordsmanship were Atem and Jo. Yugi had come close, but was still lacking agility. Atem had promised him to help in that specific area. Honda, although had managed to pass his test, still needed a little more to go before he would ever defeat Ishida.

Then came the hand-to-hand combat, that being their martial arts training. In this particular, it seemed that Honda was much more successful in, along with Jo and Atem following behind. Yugi was the one how had a much harder time in this part of his training, part of the reason being he was smaller than his friends and again, not having agility which was a vital tacit needed in martial arts. Despite this, he was able to overcome his dilemma in that moment and pass his final test. Ishida, however, still recommended him to keep training in that particular area.

Their final test was to see how much stronger their heka has become and if they are able to concentrate hard enough in controlling their power. This seemed to worry Atem a lot, since it reminded him of what had happened to his father. But his friends stood by him supporting him and it gave the encouragement he needed to pass the final test. They all passed the test sufficiently, each managing to discover the name of their _ka,_ the spirit creature that resided within their souls and that was the source of their power. While Jo and Honda managed to succeed in this pretty well, Atem was rather surprised that he and little Yugi were natural at controlling their powers, as if they were experts.

Now they stood right before their master, exhausted and their bodies full of dirt and sweat. Ishida walked back and forth, observing them calmly.

"Well done, my students. You have done very well. Throughout the years I have taken each of you in and taught you everything I know. And I am very proud to see that you have learned so much. But the training doesn't only rely on what I have to teach you. Each of you are different and all of you have learned to look back on your flaws, your weaknesses, and your fears. Fear in particular, is an emotion that can be lethal in battle. Fear, along with pain, guilt, and sorrow are emotions that can be turned into weakness and will hold you back. I have taught you to bury all those emotions with anger and you have confronted and surpassed every obstacle in your training. Remember, like in all battles, each of you has a motive that drives you to keep going and to never give up. Do not let your emotions hold you back for it can be your downfall. That being said, I am proud to announce that you have all passed your final test and have completed your training. All four of you are now officially considered paladins, warriors that I trust will use your power and skills wisely."

The four boys looked at one another in surprise and excitement, all sharing the same feeling of success and achievement. They then faced their Sensei and bowed their heads in respect.

"Thank you Sensei Ishida." They all said unison.

"Now boys, don't thank me fully yet. While you may be done with your training and have officially earned your titles, I can still see that some of you still have some areas that can be surpassed with improvement. Some of you still have emotions that while you may have ignored for this particular test and you may use the same tactic for your next official battle, these emotions still continue to haunt you in your mind and in your heart."

He eyed Atem a little longer than the others, which the prince took notice, before returning to his speech.

"When emotions such as fear and guilt are so strong that they affect you not only in battle, but also your regular life, burying those emotions within is not enough. You must learn to confront them. How are you to confront them is something I cannot teach you. As I said before, each of you is different and each of you have a different history. Only you will know how to confront your shadow when the time comes. Facing the past is never easy, but it is the only way you will be able to continue on in life. As for now, I am very proud of all of you for everything you have achieved so far. Let these lessons you learned help you in your future quests. Again congratulations to all of you. You are now officially dismissed."

They all bowed their heads once more, before breaking their serious poster and gathering around Ishida appreciatively.

"Thank you so much Sensei! You have no idea how thankful I am after everything you've done for us! We promise to keep making ya proud."

Jo was so over excited that he kept recklessly shaking his teacher's hand. Honda came from him and pushed Jo out of the way, making the blonde land roughly on the ground. He and Yugi stood in front of Ishida now, ready to show their gratitude as well.

"Thanks a lot sensei, for everything you taught us. We owe you so much."

"We really do sensei. Thanks to you, I realized that going back to Europe wasn't part of my destiny, because my true place is here. Because of you, we all have a place where we belong, where everyone is willing to accept us even with all of our unusual powers. You've also helped us embrace our gifts and taught us how to use them so that we may use them for good, instead of considering them a curse upon us."

Ishida smiled proudly as he put a hand on a shoulder of each boy. "It was your own will and determination that helped you get this far. All four of you did it on your own. You should be proud of yourselves for your own achievements. Just make sure to work on in the areas you need to improve."

Seeing his eyebrow raised in amusement, both scratched the back of their head sheepishly, knowing exactly what he was referring to, before promising and bowing in respect.

Honda then went towards Jo. "Come on Jo, get up. Let's all go to the waterfall for a bath. Bobassa's already waiting for us there!"

Both Honda and Yugi helped a still somewhat dizzy Jo from the ground and started walking ahead.

Atem was the only one left who needed to thank his teacher. He walked towards Ishida and smiled.

"Well Sensei Ishida, even though my friends have pretty much said everything that needed to be said, I still want to show my gratitude for everything you've done for us. Like Honda, Jo, and Yugi, you've have also become like family to me, because you became the paternal figure I needed at all these years to move on. I will forever be in your debt."

"Of course Atem. You have done extremely well. But as I said before, all four of you have areas in where you can improve. You in particular, still have many demons you need to face. I know you may not fully understand or be ready yet to accept this, but eventually your destiny will be revealed to you, and when the time comes, you will finally be able to face that past that haunts you."

The prince couldn't help but look away in shame and sadness. He highly doubted that day would ever come, since all these years, he had tried to forget about that past.

"Hey Atem!" He heard Yugi calling from a distance. "Aren't you gonna join us? Come on!"

The prince immediately snapped out of his mindset. "Give me a moment Yugi! I'll be right there!" He then turned to Ishida. "Thank so much for everything Sensei, I will definitely make you proud!"

He hurriedly bowed his head in respect and was about to leave in a rush.

"Just a moment Atem." This stopped the adolescent right and looked at the man confused.

"There is something I want to give before you leave." Out of his dark-gray kimono, Ishida took out a small rectangular-looking object. It was wrapped around a blue cloth. The mysterious rectangular object was also tied by a small rope. Ishida then held it out to him, as Atem stared at it curiously, thinking it was a box.

"What is it?" Ishida simply handed Atem the box in his hands, who continued to stare at it. Ishida then put an encouraging hand on the prince's shoulder.

"That is something I cannot reveal to you. I am giving this to you, because I believe you are now ready to have it in your possession. It is rightfully yours. But when you are ready to use is something you must discover on your own. Which is why you must not open it yet, until that time comes. When your destiny is revealed to you and you have finally learned to accept it, then you will know when the time is right. Have faith Atem and your path will be clear to you."

Ishida removed his hand as Atem was still staring at the object. It had felt quite heavy, but he also could feel a hollow area within the object. Although he was very thankful for this gift from his master, he was still very confused at what his master was trying to tell him. "But Sensei, I don't understand. Why do I have to wait for a certain time to come for me to open this? When will I even know when the time comes? As a matter of fact what does this thing have anything to do with that..."

He still had so many other questions for Ishida, but as Atem looked up, he was rather surprised to see that the shaman/swordsman was gone. He looked around the area, but Ishida was nowhere to be seen.

"Atem! Hurry up! Are you coming or not?! Jo and Honda already went ahead of us!"

Hearing Yugi calling out to him, the prince decided to let it go for now. Now was a time to celebrate with his friends on their success. He put the away the gift inside his bag and ran with Yugi to catch up with their other friends. After a long and hot, exhausting day, he really needed a bath.

()()()()()()

 **Later that day...**

After having taken their fresh and relaxing bath, the boys had decided to go into town, finding somewhere to eat and drink in order to celebrate their victory. All the villagers had all greeted them kindly, happily claiming to see them there again. It was already past noon and the boys were currently in the same old pub, where they usually would go at night to drink and sometimes, find their adventure for their night. However, during the day the pub also became a place for dining.

They had each gotten their food and drinks, then enjoying, talking, and laughing with one another. Everything had been fine... until some girls had come into the pub. They were all gypsies. Yugi had immediately recognized one of them and panicked.

"Guys! It's Teana! Oh no, what am I going to do?!"

Jo gave Yugi a strange look, who currently trying to hide his face from the girl's view, who was currently talking to the owner of the place. "Why are you getting so worked up Yuge? Isn't Teana the girl you're flirting with a few nights ago? You didn't seem so shy around her then and now look at you?"

"Because, I don't want her to see me in this place! You know the type of reputation this place has and how people know us here! What if she sees me, than starts asking questions about us, she'll find out what we do here and-and... she'll get the wrong idea about me!"

Honda brushed it off with a hand, while wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulder.

"Man Yugi. I haven't seen you act like this around a girl, since you started fooling around like the rest of us. And talking about that, ever since you met her, you haven't been seeing other girls at all. You must be really serious about this girl, if you care so much of what she might think about you."

Yugi's cheeks flushed red as he covered his face even more.

"Of course he is! Do you not see it! Our smallish friend is in love!" Bobassa exclaimed happily, causing a few glances from other customers.

"SHHH! Would you keep it down, please?!" Yugi whispered in a harsh, yet desperate tone, his face turning red in embarrassment. "She might hear you and then she'll know we're here!"

"Oh right! Forgive me, my friend."

After accepting Bobassa's whispered apology, Atem leaned closer to Yugi, toning down his voice as well.

"Well Yugi, if what Bobassa says is true, then congratulations, I'm happy that at least one of us had found someone to be happy with and settle down."

Despite appreciating Atem's gratitude, Jo scoffed at his statement, ruining the moment for Yugi.

"Whoa Atem, now let's not get carried away here! Yugi is still too young to actually know what real love is. And even if it was, nothing says this girl is gonna be the one that would make Yugi happy forever. And another problem here is that she's a gypsy. I don't usually listen to rumors, but the reputation they have isn't really all that good. What if she's just playin' with ya to get something out of ya? Have you thought about that?"

Yugi stared at his blonde friend in thought, before looking down in doubt and sadness. Atem gave Jo a stern look for putting down their friend like that, but was also surprised at how negative Jo was being of this situation. Since he met the blonde boy, the prince has known him to look on the brighter side of things, always thinking positive and how to motivate others with that. It surprised him that he was doing the complete opposite right now.

But right before he could say anything Honda beat him to it. "Aren't you being a little too harsh about this Jo? We're supposed to be encouraging Yugi, not making him feel worse."

Atem and Bobassa agreed with him.

"I know that. But I don't want our pal to get hurt. Look Yuge, I know you're really into this girl and I'm happy for ya buddy. But I just don't want this to get so far that it'll come between the four of us and then only for you to end up suffering for some girl who may not be worth it. I'm not saying to not see her. If you really like this girl, then go for it! But just be careful and don't jump ahead. Make sure you get to know her first and if it doesn't work out, just remember that we're here for ya. Because nothing can come between our friendship."

After listening to Jo's speech, Yugi felt really happy that his friend he's known since childhood was once more encouraging him. Perhaps he didn't fully encourage the fact of him possibly having a relationship with Teana, but he knew that his friend was only looking out for him and was willing to support him in case things don't end up like he hopes they will. What Yugi didn't know was that there were more motives to Jo's disagreement.

Atem and Honda looked at one another knowingly, since they knew the real reason Jo didn't want Yugi (or any of them for that matter) to have a serious relationship with a girl was because he didn't want to lose any of his friends and have their group break apart. While they knew it was selfish for Jo to feel this way, they also understood him, since they too wouldn't want their group to separate. Lucky for them, they were convinced that they would never settle down.

Despite the years, Honda wasn't able to forget about his childhood crush, Shizuka. He still thought of her everyday, but was completely convinced that he would never see her again, therefore couldn't find himself being in a real relationship with anyone else. Besides, all the girls he met were all the same; too easy, nagging for attention, etc, while the remains others were either too young or were already taken. And he highly doubt he would find someone who was different and serious about having a relationship in such a small village. And he nor his friends were definitely NOT like the town's playboy, Duke, who fooled the innocent ones with sweet words, until he got what he wanted.

Atem on the other hand, simply wasn't in the mood to have a relationship with a girl and much less marriage. It brought too many complications, just like how it was currently happening with his friend Yugi. And he hasn't even officially started having a relationship with that gypsy girl yet. No, he enjoyed too much of his bachelor life he had with his friends to throw it all away for a girl. He'd rather continue his life the way it is with just relaxing and having fun, not having to worry about anything.

"Oh no she's coming this way! Hide me before she sees us! No wait, we all have to hide!" Yugi desperately took out his brown cloak out of his bag and put the hood over his head. When he saw the others weren't doing the same, the boy panicked once more.

"Guys, what are you waiting for?! Put on your cloaks before she sees you!"

They all gave each other confused looks. "But why us Yuge? I thought you were only worried about if she's you?"

"Hello! She's sees at least one of us, she'll know all us are here! Come on guys, please, please?!"

He joined his hands together and held them out, pleading his friends. The others looked at one another, feeling a bit reluctant at such a ridiculous request, but couldn't say no to Yugi's puppy-dog face. Atem, especially was a sucker at those kind of expressions.

With a groan, they took out their cloaks as well and covered themselves as well. This gained them strange looks from arriving guests to the pub.

"Ah, man people are watching like if we're crazy or something." Honda complained embarrassed of the whole situation.

Meanwhile Teana and the other gypsies were currently across the room, talking to a tall person, dress in a vanilla cloak. They figured the person was female, due to her physique, but could not see her face.

Yugi nervously continued to stare at Teana, while the others were more curious as to who the mysterious person was, since they had never seen her before. It also caught their attention the clothes she wore, which was of high quality. It was quite obvious this woman must be someone of high class, maybe even a noble.

"Hey, give that back!"

"Sorry lass, but it's mine now!"

Everyone soon turned to the source of the ruckus. A middle aged man, who was covered in filth, while wearing torn clothes, was currently man handling a young, short female, who was also wearing the same vanilla cloak as the woman talking to the gypsies. The man was smiling deviously as he was holding something gold and shiny in one hand, while grabbing the girl with the other, who was trying to reach for the object.

"Give it to me! You have no idea how important that amulet is to me!"

As she kept struggling to get the object back, the man grew tired of the at girl's attempts and threw her onto the ground. Everything else happened so fast, it was hard for the others to register. The thief then dashed out of the pub, laughing crazily. The female that was talking to the gypsies immediately went to her smaller partner's aid.

At the same time, Jo was furious by the scene all together. He had seen many thieves randomly appear around the village, hoping to steal something of value, which caused him to have a great dislike for them. But it especially angered him how the man had just publicly disrespected and humiliated a woman in front of everyone, before stealing something that didn't belong to him. Did these thieves have no shame anymore?

A few seconds after the thief left running, the blonde immediately got up and ran after the man.

"What the hell Jo?! What are you doing!"

Honda's exclamations never reach his friend's ears as he was already far ahead, the others sitting there in shock. A split second after, a flash of white spread across their views as they witnessed the young female who had been mistreated and robbed run outside of the pub as well, following Jo and the thief.

"Come back you pair of thieves!"

As soon as they heard that, the group immediately panicked. The girl now assumed that Jo had planned this with the thief. Of course, she had just witnessed him run after the thief that stole her item, who was suspiciously trying shield himself underneath a brown cloak. It was not uncommon for a band of thieves to plan these kind of schemes. But the worse part was that their friend was innocent. Atem was the first to get up.

"We better go after them and clear up this misunderstanding, before the situation gets worse. Let's go."

Atem then joined the chase as the others got up. Honda groaned in annoyance.

"That Jounouchi. Always getting himself into trouble, as usual."

The remaining three also joined the wild goose chase, being only miles behind Atem.

()()()()()()

The once cocky and arrogant the if that had robbed that young girl, was now panicking as he ran as fast as he could from the accelerating blonde behind him. What scared the thief the most was the crazed look on Jo's face, who was smiling in a creepy manner, his chin being stretched out. (1)

"Leave me alone! The necklace is mine!"

He panicked even more as Jo was getting closer to him, while the thief was losing energy and growing tired. Once Jo was close enough, he pounced into the air and tackled the man, who screamed in terror.

They both hit the ground, with the man below Jo, who had him pinned to ground. The thief groaned in pain and his hand that held the small-chained golden necklace. Jo smirked and immediately snatched it out of his hand.

"I'll take that!"

He then got off the thief, who suddenly forgot about his pain and began to protest. "Wait! You can't do this! I got the necklace first and-"

Jo roughly grabbed him by the collar of the man's shirt and immediately lifted him up, giving him his infamous threatening glare. The man was silent in fear.

"Shut up and get out of here right now. Before I change my mind and make you pay for what you did that girl!" The frightened man shook in fear and nodded quickly.

"Alright, I'll leave! Just please don't hurt me!" Jo slowly let the thief go, who scrambled on the ground away from Jo, before getting up and running away, all while screaming back at the blonde rebel that he was crazy.

Jo chuckled at that and smiled, while looking at the golden amulet he had recovered. "Well, that solves one problem. Now time to go back and return this to- GAH!"

Suddenly, Jo felt himself being lifted up into midair by some invisible force. His eyes widened as he was being turned upside, until was finally held still in midair.

"What the- what's goin' on here?" His legs and arms wiggled, trying to break free of whatever was holding him in place, but with no success.

"Ah-ha! I finally caught you thief!" A bubbly, cheerful, feminine voice was was heard as he turned to see who it was. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized it was the same mysterious girl, who had been robbed, and who was precisely the person he was going to look for. She was currently pointing some color-coordinated staff towards him, that was glowing. So she was the one causing this? Who was she and how was she- wait, did she call him a thief just now? Realizing what was going on, he immediately panicked.

"Wait a sec?! You've got it all wrong! I'm not a thief at all! I was only trying to return this to ya!"

Despite trying to explain himself, the girl only scoffed, before walking towards Jo and snatching back her golden amulet from Jo's grip.

"Ha. You honestly expect me to believe that. That's what thieves like you always say. But too bad for you, because I'm not gullible enough to fall for your lies! And now, since your friend manage to get away, I guess you'll have to take the punishment alone."

This caused Jo to panic once more. "PUNISHMENT?! What punishment?!"

The mysterious mage smiled mischievously under her mouth cover and giggled, while putting back the necklace around her neck. "Oh don't worry, it's just a little spell that will turn you into a dog for the rest of your life! I believe that's fair enough for stealing my amulet!"

"WHAT! You can't be serious! I swear I didn't steal your stupid necklace! I was chasing that thief to get it back for you!"

Even though he was only trying to desperately defend himself, the insult towards the small piece of jewelry seemed to trigger the young female.

"Alright Mister Thief, you've really done it now. Now, say hello to a world of canines! Ha, ha!"

She happily laughed as her wand began to glow.

 _Gee, this is the thanks I get for helping her out? Why is it always me who ends up in these kinds of situations?_ Jo thought bitterly.

However, right before the girl could complete her spell, Atem appeared out of the blue and suddenly pounced on the girl, surprising her. This caused the young mage to drop he wand, causing Jo to fall off the ground, landing painfully on his head. While he rubbed the pain off, Atem was struggling with the girl, who was fighting back with just as much force.

"Let me go!" She screamed at him.

"After what you were about to do to my friend, you think I'm about to take my chances with you? Especially knowing that you're a magician?"

This slightly startled the girl, wondering how this mysterious young stranger knew she was magician. But she soon brushed that aside and pushed him off, before she went for her wand. Atem ran for the wand before she could get it, but both hit the ground, grabbing it at the same time.

The struggle began once more as they grabbed the wand from one another, in a game of tug-of-war. "Argh, let it go! It's my wand!" But Atem refused to let go, knowing that it was too dangerous to let this female magician have her wand back.

Meanwhile Jo was still trying to recover from the impact his head had suffer. Luckily, Yugi, Honda, and Bobassa managed to make on time and help their friend in need. While Yugi helped Jo stay on his feet, the injured blonde and Honda were rooting for Atem. Bobassa was simply watching the struggle with amusement, while eating the remains of his food and Yugi looked on in slight worry.

"Come on pal! You can do this!"

Being the stronger one, the prince pulled the female into his arms and gripped her tight while trying to get the wand out of her grasp. He close to forcing the wand out of grip that she panicked and without thinking it, bit through her mouth cover and onto Atem's hand hard.

"OWW!" The pain shot through his hand and loss grip of both the magician and the wand. Taking back the wand, the girl immediately took advantage of his distraction and pounced Atem onto the ground, having him pinned to the ground. She pointed her wand directly towards his face and gave a triumphed smirk.

"Looks like you lose and I win!" Atem looked at the young mage with irritation, about claim that she cheated when he caught sight of her eyes. Despite unable to see her face clearly through the hooded cloak and mouth cover, her beautiful emerald green eyes gave him a sense of familiarity. Where had he seen those eyes before? He then noticed the necklace that hung around her neck and his eyes widened with shock, now noticing that the golden necklace was actually a crescent moon-shape amulet.

Noticing his silence and shocked expression, the mage raised in eyebrow in question. "What's the matter? Can't accept the fact that you and your friend got beaten by a girl?"

"Mana?" At the mention of her name, the girl was shocked beyond belief. How is that this stranger she never met before knew her name? She immediately got off the young man and walked back at a good distance, across from him. She then took off her hood and mouth cover.

"Is it really you?" He asked once more.

Mana gave a questioning look. "Who are you?"

He took off his brown cloak, revealing his wild tri-colored spiky hair in all its glory. She gasped in shock at the all too familiar hair and then observed the young man before her.

"It's me Mana. Atem." Listening to the exchange of words between them, the group stood in silence, confused and bewildered at what was happening before them. Mana looked back at Atem in shock, not believing what she was seeing or hearing.

"Atem?" She tried one more time, wanting to confirm once more that this was indeed her childhood friend and not some illusion. The prince nodded at her, happiness spreading all over his body. The same happiness spread through Mana as well.

"WHOA! NO WAY!" The two ran towards each other and Mana threw herself into Atem's arms, who hugged her hard and twirled her around in excitement. Their actions caused both Jo and Honda's jaws to drop in shock, while Yugi and Bobassa simply exchanged confused looks.

Atem stopped twirling Mana and put her down, who she jump back in excitement, but still holding hands with one another.

"How did you?! When did you?!" They both questioned one another, not believing they were seeing each other after so many years of being separated.

"Wow! I can't believe you're here Mana!"

"But where did you come from?!"

"It's really great to see you!"

The excitement at seeing one another did not diminish as they continued to question one another, without actually answering each other. While the others continued to watch in shock, Jo decided that he had enough of this and was ready to demand Atem for an explanation.

"Okay that's it! These two have some explaining to do!" Separating himself from Yugi's grip, he walked towards the reunited friends, who were still engrossed with finding one another.

"What are you doing here Mana?!"

"What do you mean, what am I doing here, what are you doing here?"

Before they continued to question any further, Jo interrupted them. "HEY! WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?!"

They both stopped and turned to Jo, but their smiles never faltering.

"Jo, this is Mana, she's my best friend!"

"Friend?!"

Atem then looked to his other friends and called them over. "Hey guys! Come over here!"

The boys looked at one another with excitement before removing their brown cloaks and walked over to them, anxious to meet Atem's friend.

Jo was was appalled at what he was seeing. She had just attacked him and Atem a few minutes ago, and now they're welcoming her, acting as if nothing happened. Not noticing the conflict their blonde friend was going through, they all gathered around Atem and Mana.

"Alright guys, this is Mana! She's been my friend since we were children. Mana I'd like to introduce you to my friends, who've been looking after me all these years. This is Honda, Yugi, and this big fellow over here is Bobassa."

Honda was the first to approach her and shook her hand in a somewhat flirtatious way. "Pleased to meet you miss."

"The pleasure is all mine." However before he could pull her hand up and kiss it, she had already removed it and moved onto Yugi. She was astonished at seeing how much he looked like Atem.

"Wow, Atem this boy looks so much like you! He even has your hair! Are you sure you two aren't related somehow?!"

Both boys shrugged. "I really don't know Mana. Considering Yugi is practically from the other side of the world, it seems impossible. But believe me, it was quite a shocker for us both when we met."

The young apprentice giggled, imagining how comical that must have been. Smiling, she offered Yugi a hand.

"Well, nice to meet you Yugi!" He smiled back and shook her hand.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you too Mana."

"What about Bobassa! I also want to Little Atem's friend." Bobassa jumped behind Yugi, excited to meet Mana. He grabbed Mana's hand into his large ones in a tender manner, welcoming manner. "Hello Miss, I am Bobassa and you do not believe how exciting it is to finally meet one of our little Atem's friends from his past life. Welcome to our humble village."

She blushed, feeling bashful. "Aw, you are very kind Bobassa. As a matter of fact, all of you are very welcoming. Thank you so much-"

"OKAY, THAT'S IT! TIME OUT FOR A MOMENT!"

Jo's outburst shut everyone else up, while the blonde rubbed his forehead in frustration. "Alright, let me get this straight. You know her, she knows you. But she tried to turn me into a dog and attacked me earlier! And suddenly, everyone is okay with this? Did I miss something, here?!"

Mana look away in embarrassment for a moment, realizing her error and that Jo had been telling the truth this entire time.

"Calm down Jo. It was just a misunderstanding on Mana's part." Atem defended his childhood friend. Mana shamefully stepped forward the blonde.

"I'm sorry Jo. I should have believed you when you told me that you didn't steal my amulet. It's just that this amulet is so important to me and assumed the worst when I saw you run with that thief and then find it in your possession. Forgive me for misjudging you like that."

Hearing Mana's apology so sincere, Jo sighed and felt his anger diminish at the sight of her shameful expression. "Ah, forget about it." He brushed it off. "Like Atem said, it was just a mistake. And in all honesty, if I would have been in your place, I probably would have made the same mistake too. Let's just forget about it and start over. Truce?"

The magician apprentice smiled at the fact that the blonde swordsman had forgiven her and accepted his hand.

"Truce!"

"Mana! There you are!" Everyone turned to the new voice and saw a horseman heading their way. As he came closer, they realized it wasn't a man at all. It was the same woman who was covered in the same garments that Mana had wore and was talking to the gypsies back at the bar.

Mana excitedly walked towards the woman, who stopped her horse right front of her. She then got off her horse and stood in front the girl.

"Are you alright Mana?"

Mana nodded positively. "Don't worry Isis. I'm perfectly fine."

"But what about the thief that stole your amulet?"

Mana smiled as she lifted her necklace in front of Isis. "I managed to get it back... with some help of course." She then looked back at the boys with a smile. Isis turned to look at the group of people ready to thank them for helping out Mana, until her eyes landed on Atem and froze in shock.

The young apprentice immediately noticed this and excitedly grabbed Atem's arm and dragged him in front of Isis. "And look what I discovered Isis?! It's Atem! He's been alive all this time, living out here!"

The priestess stood there paralyzed, not believing her eyes. "My gods, this is unreal. I can't believe it. But does that mean my vision was right all along? Is it really..."

The prince noticed her hesitation and smiled sadly, though it did catch his attention that they were surprised he was alive. Did that mean, they thought he was dead?

"Oh my prince!" She went hug him tightly, while small tears began to form in her eyes. "This is truly a miracle by the gods themselves! They have brought you back to us, Prince Atem."

"PRINCE?!" Jo, Yugi, Honda, and Bobassa all exclaimed in surprise.

"Yep, didn't Atem tell you he was the crowned prince of Egypt?" This shocked them even more as Mana turned to Atem, who separated himself from Isis. "Just wait until everyone finds out you've been here all this time. And your mother. I can't even imagine what she would think."

At this, the prince reluctantly shook his head. "She doesn't have to know. No one in Egypt has to know I'm here."

"What?! But of course they need to know Atem. Everyone believes you're dead!"

This took the prince completely by surprise. "What? They do?"

"Yes my prince. Aknadin told us about the stampede." He looked back at Isis for a moment, before returning to Mana.

"Really? Did he tell you anything else?"

"Yeah he did. But it doesn't matter either way, now that you're alive. Because that means... you're the king."

Atem's eyes widened in shock, never expecting that this day would ever come. However before the discussion could continue further, Jo intervened for like the 100th time that day.

"King? Whoa ladies, have you both completely lost it?"

"I'm afraid not, young man. Prince Atem's father was the king of Egypt, and because both were believed to have died, another took over Egypt. But now that we found out that the prince, true heir to the throne, is indeed alive, he is now automatically the pharaoh of Egypt."

"Wow, this is incredible..." Yugi murmured to Honda, while watching with awe.

"Yeah...Atem, king? Who would have thought?"

Bobassa was now seeing Atem with admiration and in a whole new light. Bobassa had always loved Egypt, since his travels over there, which is one of the reasons why he taken a particular liking towards the young prince. But now discovering that Atem is actually meant to be the of ruler of the country he learned to love so much, the respect he had for him had now just multiplied.

"Pharaoh." He soon walked towards Atem and bowed before him. "Your majesty. I kneel before you my king." He soon began to dramatically bow before him, raising his hands on and off the ground.

"Bobassa, would you please stop it?" A very embarrassed Atem pleaded. Jo groaned and went towards Bobassa, grabbing him off the ground.

"Stop it already. You're embarrassing yourself and Atem. Besides, he's no pharaoh." But the doubt hit him the second he said that and turned to the prince. "You're not the pharaoh are ya?"

"No!"

"But Atem?!" Mana retorted, rather surprised that her friend was so insistent to deny his heritage.

"No, I'm not the pharaoh! Maybe I was going to be at one point, but that was a long time ago!"

"Wait it a minute, so you really are the king of Egypt? And you never told us, bud?"

"Look at me Jo! I'm still the same guy." Atem insisted.

"But with power!" Jo excitedly raised with his fist in the air. However, he over exerted himself and the pain on his head came back back to him with full force. "OUCH!"

"Jo! Are you alright?!" Atem was the first to go his friend, everyone else following pursuit.

The blonde swordsman was currently rubbing his head in pain. "I've been better. Guess I'm not completely healed from my head injury."

"Heh, heh. Oops, sorry again Jo." Mana said sheepishly

"I have a suggestion." Yugi claimed pointing his finger up in attention. "Why don't we all go back to our cabin and get Jo healed up. We can continue this conversation over there."

"Hey that's a great idea Yugi!" Mana exclaimed excitedly. "And the good thing is that Isis is an expert in healing. You'll be better in no time!"

After everyone nodded in agreement at Yugi and Mana's plan, Honda helped Jo walk, while they headed back to their home.

()()()()()()

It was now the evening and the sky had become orange, a sign that the sun was setting and night was approaching.

"Alright Jounouchi. With the spell I put on your wound, you should be able to be fully recovered in matter of hours. Now don't overstress yourself or it will take an even longer time for you to heal."

Isis finished wrapping the bandage around Jo's head. "Gee thanks ma'am. You sure can make wonders with that stuff."

The priestess smiled as Yugi sat next his friend. "Thank you very much for helping our friend. I never thought we would ever get meet Atem's friends from his old life. And much less that he was friends with magicians."

"Well technically Mana is a magician apprentice, while I am simply a sacred guardian, part of the royal court that serves directly under the pharaoh. I am Priestess Isis."

The others grew intrigued with the little information she had given them. "Wow that's sounds amazing. Well, it's very nice to you, Priestess Isis."

The sacred guardian accepted and shook Yugi's hand. "A pleasure as well young man. Say, it's unbelievable how much you and the prince look like one another. If I didn't know any better, I could have thought the two of you were brothers."

Both boys scratched their heads sheepishly. "We've been told." They said in unison.

The others laughed at that and began the conversation between the group. While everyone laughed and joked on theories as to how the boy's looked almost identical, Mana, who had been one of the more happy, talkative ones, was now silent among the group, deep in thought and with a sad expression. So many emotions were running through at the moment that she felt that she needed to express to her childhood friend in private. She turned to Atem, who was currently talking to Isis of what he has done for the past few years the was gone.

"Atem?"

The prince then turned to Mana. "Yes Mana?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to you outside for a moment?"

At first he was confused as to why, but then realized this was something they did when it came to their secrets.

"Of course."

"Hey, what's with all the secrecy? We're Atem's friends too, so anything you say to him, you can say it in front of us, right bud?"

Atem smiled, knowing exactly where this was going. Usually, he would have agreed with Jo, but in this occasion, there was so many things that only concerned him and Mana. Jo waited, expecting Atem to side with him.

"Sorry Jo but there's just somethings that I need to clear up with Mana alone. Now if you'll excuse us."

As the two childhood friends left the cottage, Jo's jaw dropped in shock.

"I can't believe it. Atem just bailed on us."

Honda rolled his eyes. "By us, you mean you."

The blonde shot an irritated look towards him. "I know what I said!"

"Guys come on. Don't start fighting over this. We also have to understand Atem. If he didn't tell us anything about his past, it must be for a reason. Mana is part of that past, therefore she knows so many things about him that we don't."

"Precisely my young friend. And unless my memory deceives me, when we had first met little Atem, I recall you mentioning that you didn't care what that past might be and wouldn't force him to tell us if he didn't want to."

Jo grumbled bitterly, knowing that Bobassa and just had just made a valid point.

"Both of you are right. The prince still has so many shadows he must overcome. I can see it in his eyes. And right now, he is currently not ready to reveal everything he has buried within. We must give him his space for now and encourage him in everything we can. He will definitely need for the events that have yet to come."

Hearing the wise words of the priestess, everyone, including Jo, had concluded that she was absolutely right. Deciding to change topic, Honda spoke up while looking at the priestess.

"So, you and Mana know Atem since he was little, right? Are you both related to him in anyway?"

"Well, in a few ways, yes. All of us were born within the royal palace of Egypt and grew up together. The prince and I, along with five others, were destined to inherit and be the keepers of the Legendary Seven Millennium Items."

She then pointed towards her own item. "This is one of them. The Millennium Necklace, which was destined for me to harness its power."

Everyone looked at the object in amazement as Isis continued. "All seven of us were trained to harness the powers of these items. Prince Atem was meant to inherit his item when he was crowned pharaoh. The others and I would inherit ours once we reached priesthood and serve the pharaoh as his sacred guardians. We have already completed our training and assumed our places. The only one left is our prince. Therefore, it is mandatory that he fulfills his heritage and takes his place as pharaoh, so that we may fulfill ours in protecting and serving him and our kingdom."

The others looked on in shock at everything they have just heard and letting the information sink. All this time, they thought they knew Atem very well, even though they always had present that he was hiding something of his past. But they never imagined it would be something as impacting as of this magnitude. A runaway Prince born to inherit a kingdom and have powerful sorcerers under his command? It just didn't go with the Atem they knew knew and grew up with.

"So, if you're supposed to be one of Atem's six most powerful Servants, then is Mana one of the other 5?" Yugi questioned.

Isis shook her head negatively. "No she is not, however, she is being trained as a magician apprentice precisely under one of the other five. But very soon, Mana will be finished with her training and will become a Master Magician; a priestess. And considering she is our prince's betrothed, his future queen, it is now especially important for her to-"

"WAIT WHAT?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise, cutting her off, while she stood there in shock at the group's outburst. It seemed that today was a day full of surprises.

()()()()()()

They had walked a few feet away from the cabin, with Mana taking the league. Once they stopped, Atem chuckled remembering Jo's face when they left.

"Heh, sorry about my friend's outburst earlier. He can be such a hothead at times, but once you get use to him and the others, you just learn to love them."

He laughed a bit more, but when he turned to Mana, he noticed her back was turned to him, and her eyes were close with a sad expression. But what shocked him was the tears that formed in her eyes. He reach out to her worriedly.

"Mana are you alright? What's the matter?" The apprentice slowly turned around to face him, expressing all her pain, sorrow, sadness, and happiness to him, which she had kept hidden for most of the day.

"It's like you came back from the dead. You have no idea how much this going to mean to everyone." Her voice trembled, before lowering it to a whisper. "How much it means to me."

The prince felt moved by her words, feeling so much emotions travel through him. He smiled tenderly at her and put his hands on her shoulders in assurance. "Hey, don't worry Mana. It's alright. I'm here now."

Mana then threw herself into his arms, hugging him, while her face buried into his chest and the tears fell down her cheeks.

"I missed you so much Temmy."

Hearing her call him by his childhood nickname and feeling her warmth, he smiled tenderly and wrapped his arms around her smaller form, hugging her protectively, while laying his head on top of hers.

"I missed you too."

Unbeknownst to them, the group was watching from the distance, not too far away from the cabin. While everyone thought it was a very touching scene, Jo looked on bitterly, knowing exactly where this will lead.

"It's so romantic." Bobassa sighed happily.

"Oh shut up already Bobassa!" Jo snapped at the huge man. "This isn't something to be happy about. Can't you see this is a disaster!"

Honda raised an eyebrow at in question. "And why do you think that's a bad thing?"

"Because ya nimrod, can't ya see that with the way things are going, they're going to end up falling for each other? And what's worse is that they don't have even the slightest clue."

"Still don't get why it's a bad thing."

Jo slapped his forehead in frustration.

Meanwhile Yugi and Isis were right behind them, smiling at the scene before them, feeling happy for them. But there was still something he didn't quite understand and turned to Isis.

"So how is it exactly that Atem became betrothed to Mana in the first place? They seemed to only refer to each other as best friends and that they've been friends since they were kids."

"They have been betrothed since birth, an arrangement formed between their families, so that one day Mana may rule by the prince's side as his queen. And since Mana is of nobility and was in training to become a Master Magician, she was considered a perfect candidate for the pharaoh's queen. They also thought it would be much easier for the prince to be wed to someone he grew up, got along with and who he has known his entire life. Of course, at the time they weren't very fond of the idea, being children and all. But now... I have a feeling that their perspectives will change a lot sooner than they realize. And this would a very good thing."

Yugi smiled and nodded in agreement before looking back at the pair of childhood sweathearts, who were still hugging one another and sharing a whispered conversation.

()()()()()()

The next couple of days, Isis and Mana installed themselves in the village temporarily. Since then, Atem would visit to village a lot more often than before,always convincing the others to come. He had introduced Mana and Isis to the villagers, who had welcomed them with open arms. He then eagerly took Mana on a tour around the village, with the others following behind.

However when the two spend time with one another, they had completely forgotten about everything else as they enjoyed each other's company. Isis caught on this and smiled. Even though it was mandatory that they would convince the prince that he must return to Egypt and assume his rightful place as king of Egypt, she also understood that Mana was just reconstructing her relationship with Atem. The two have been separated for 8 years, therefore both needed time alone together to make up for what they lost and perhaps, in reconstructing their friendship, it develops into something more. Therefore she decided not to bring up the topic to either of them for now. She knew Mana would eventually talk to Atem about it herself when the time was right. So while watching the two from affar, she distracted herself by have conversations with Teana and her companions, whom Yugi had taken the pleasure to properly introduce her to.

Within the days, Atem and Mana spend more time together, laughing, talking, and reliving the moments they shared as children, especially the pranks they use to pull on Mahad. Atem had asked her about him and the others. She only told him as much as she could, not feeling that he was ready to hear just how grave the situation really was back in Egypt. In distraction from further questions, she reunited him with his white horse, Hurria (2), telling him she had taken care of him all this time, as she knew how much the animal meant to him. The prince was thankful for this gift, as he caressed his horse, who Hurria returned his gesture, recognizing his master.

A week flew by and the two friends were growing close to one another; Atem encouraging Mana to try out the foreign food the villagers had to offer, her pulling him and running towards something that fascinated her with excitement.

A festival day came by, where the villagers celebrated the 30th anniversary of when the village was first created. During the festivity, the prince and the mage spend the entire day together, laughing, and entering small contests. Atem eagerly entered an archery contest, which didn't surprise her since he was a natural with the bow since childhood. His competitor was Duke, who had taken an interest on the young mage and tried to woo her, something that Atem wasn't surpised by, coming from him.

He already didn't like the young man for his reputation of womanizing innocent, naïve girls. But for some reason, he extremely disliked advances he had towards his childhood friend, more than he should. It made his blood boil in rage, wanting beat the living crap out of him, but held back and decided to handle this in a more decent manner. He of course, came out victorious in the archery contest, making it clear to the playboy to stay away from his friend and manage to win himself a large amount of golden coins. He then used some of them to buy Mana an adorable rag doll. She squealed and hugged him, thanking him over and over again.

Not too far away, Bobassa, Honda, and Jo were watching them from a distance. Well, more like Jo was doing all the spying, while Honda and Bobassa were having an eating contest. Yugi had sneaked off in spending time with Teana, unbeknownst to Jo, since he was to busy spying on Atem to notice his other friend's absence. As he witnessed Atem and Mana hugging and laughing, while looking into each other's eyes with adoration, his worst fears were happening; they were falling in love.

It was already late in the afternoon and everyone was still enjoying the festivity. Yugi and Teana had reunited with the other gypsies and Isis, and are currently mingling. Atem and Mana were currently sitting at the top of a hill, watching the sunset, while cuddling against each other. They talked without realizing they had been and are currently being spied on.

Jo continued to look at them with misery clearly plastered on his face, while Bobassa and Honda looked at the scene with dazed expressions.

"Ah, young love." Bobassa swooned.

"Yep. If only my love life was like this..."

Jo scowled at them before putting a grumpy pout on his face.

Meanwhile, the two childhood friends were currently giggly and talking about their past adventures.

"I still can't believe you and Mahad climbed all the way up to my room, just to see if I was alright. That's something I've never been able to forget."

They both laughed as Mana reached into her collar and took out her golden crescent moon amulet and looked at it clenched into her hand. "Neither have I. It was the very day I gave your present for your day of birth, before you..."

She stopped herself, looking at her amulet in sadness. She couldn't finish her sentence. She didn't even want to think of it. Her best friend was alive and with her at this moment. That's what really counted. Nothing else of what she believed before mattered anymore. Smiling, she looked back at the prince with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"But knowing how impulsive and forgetful you were, you've probably lost yours a long time ago."

The prince scoffed, somewhat offended at this claim. He elbowed her tummy playfully. "Look whose talking about being impulsive and forgetful, Ms. Screw-up spells."

Mana pouted and her faced puffed in embarrassment. "Hey! My spells weren't that bad! There were times where my spells actually came in handy!"

Atem raised an eyebrow in a amusement. "Oh really? Name one."

Noticing that familiar sarcastic tone, that was meant to irritate her, she turned around arrogantly and crossed her arms, with her eyes closed, refusing to give him that satisfaction. It caused him to laugh.

"Alright, alright. I won't bother you anymore on your bad sorcery. But just to prove you wrong about me, let me show you something."

While Atem reached into his collar, Mana rashly turned around, ready retort at the fact that he just called her sorcery bad, when she gasped in surprise.

"Your sun amulet!" Atem smiled and nodded as he held the golden sun amulet in front of her, the red ruby in the middle shining brightly.

"So, what was it that you were saying before?" Ignoring the smugness in his attitude, she suddenly became serious as she held the small pendant in her hand, deep in thought.

"You really kept this... all this time..."

"Of course I did Mana. It's the only thing that I actually wanted to keep from the past. The only thing that reminded me of you. And I assume that must be the same reason why you kept yours safe as well."

Mana released his amulet and grabbed onto her own. "Yeah. When Aknadin told us what happened to you and your father, I was devastated. I suffered so much, thinking you were gone forever. This was the only thing I had that made me feel that I was still connected to you somehow, that you were still with me."

The prince looked at her with compassion, as small tears appeared in her eyes, but never fell. His next action took her by surprise. He grabbed her chin with his fingers and softly pulled her up, so she was looking directly at him. "Mana, look at me. All of that is in the past now. I'm alive, I'm with you right now, and trust me, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise that no one is ever going to separate us again."

His eyes expressing so many emotions such as tenderness, comfort, compassion, and also a genuine emotion that she did not recognize in his look before. But it made her feel warm inside, and felt butterflies in her stomach. While looking at each other, Mana realized that she and Atem were so close to one another, that their lips were so close to touching. At the same time, she also noticed that they were currently at the top of the hill, in plain sight of the village, where almost anyone can see them. Blushing in embarrassment, she immediately got up and laughed nervously, while wiping her tears away from her eyes.

"Is something wrong Mana?" Atem looked confused at her sudden reaction. She sheepishly scratched her head.

"Oh nothing! Um... hehe... it's just, you still haven't taken me on a official tour through the jungle, like you promised. And I've heard from everyone else that there are some very beautiful places to see there."

Realization dawned the prince as he got up. "Oh you're right. Then let us go then. You're going to especially love the waterfall. It's actually my favorite part of the jungle."

"Wow. That sounds amazing..."

He grabbed her hand and walked her down the hill, with the sun setting into the evening. As they left and headed into the jungle, Jo and Honda looked at them in shock, while Bobassa smiled, feeling happy for his friend.

"Did you just see that?" Jo claimed.

"Yes I did. They almost kissed."

The blonde then grabbed his hair in frustration. "See what I told ya guys?! He's falling in love! Now it's only a matter of time before our group breaks apart and we lose our pal forever!"

Honda gave his friend a strange look. "Don't you think you're being a little too dramatic about this? I mean not even with you Yugi you were this exaggerated. Why are you so worked up about this?"

"Because at least Teana lives here, so we won't have to worry about Yugi going away for good. Besides Yugi already told me that nothing serious was gonna happen. But Mana is insistent on him returning to their old home, where he's meant to be king. And they were supposed to get married. I know Atem said he didn't want to go back in the beginning but with what's going on right now, it won't be long before he changes his mind and decides to leave us!"

Honda looked at the pair thoughtfully as Yugi, who had just arrived with Isis, after saying goodbye to Teana for the day, also looked surprised. "Well, yeah I guess that is a risk and we would all miss him. But come on man, we can't control his life and the choices he makes. He's not a little kid anymore. If he decides to leave to Egypt, become pharaoh, and get married, then there's nothing we can do about. And besides, just look at him? Have you ever seen him this happy? Because I sure haven't."

Jo took a moment to look at Atem, who was walking away with wrapped around his arm. The smile on his face evertime he looked at her and that spark in his eyes he didn't have before made him feel so emotionally happy for his friend that he felt like crying, but also because he felt they were losing him. But he refused to cry in front of his friends. Rubbing his eyes, he simply sighed in defeat.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. If they do end up falling in love, then there's nothing we can do, except be happy for him and accept whatever decision he might make. Well at least Yugi made it clear to us that his relationship with that gypsy isn't as serious as we thought it was from the beginning." This caused the boy in mention to fidget and laugh nervously.

"Um, yeah... about that Jo. I kinda lied." This caused the blonde to turned to Yugi incredulously, while he tapped his index fingers together sheepishly.

"I only told you that because I didn't want you to worry too much about this. But I had taken your advice on getting to know Teana, and... well now I'm officially...courting her."

"What?! You too?!"

This soon caused some scolding and yet another rant from Jo towards Yugi, while Bobassa and Honda were trying to calm him down.

Behind them, Isis chuckled, finding the scene so comical, before looking back at where Atem and Mana had left. She smiled, happy at the fact that the two childhood friends were starting reform their bond, but this time, with much deeper and stronger emotions than anything they felt before. She knew this was something bound to happen eventually, since they had been reunited with the prince.

But it did concern her when Jo mentioned that the prince had previously claimed not wanting anything to do with his past life. Is that the reason why Prince Atem never returned to the palace? If so, then why? What reason could have been powerful enough for the prince to abandon his home, especially after his father's death? And also what if he still neglects on returning to the palace? Currently he was their only hope to save their precious kingdom. And her vision did show that the prince will play some part in Egypt's future. Right now, she could only hope that Mana eventually talks to him, convinces him to return to Egypt, and has him clear everything.

Still, the priestess felt happy for both Prince Atem and Mana. Seeing them reunited, together, and happy reminded her of what she and a certain master magician had back in Egypt. She touched her Millennium Necklace and looked up at the beautiful orange sky. _Mahad...I can only hope that you are alright._

()()()()()()

 **Can You Feel The Love Tonight?**

It was now dusk, with the sun's orange rays disappearing more and the sky turning darker. During their small tour, Atem had finally brought Mana to the waterfall just as he promised. He was currently climbing down on the rocks on the side and behind it, while offering Mana a hand to climb down.

 _Can you feel the love tonight_

 _The peace the evening brings_

 _The world for once in perfect harmony_

 _With all its living things_

Once they reached the bottom, Mana went ahead and was playfully teasing him to follow, jumping behind and in front of the waterfall. He followed, playing along with her game, before the two reached dry ground. She then turned and was now able get a better view of the waterfall.

"It's beautiful Atem." He smiled tenderly at her, happy that he was able to make her smile like this, with her emerald eyes shining brightly. The two then went to sit by the lake. Both took off their shoes and put their feet in the water. They smiled at one another and relaxed, as the warm water ran through their feet.

The prince looked back at Mana for a moment in thought.

 _So many things to tell her_

 _But how to make her see_

 _The truth about my past, impossible_

 _She'd turn away from me_

Atem turned from her, feeling ashamed for a moment to look at her in the eyes. Mana noticed this and looked at him, confused.

 _He's holding back, he's hiding_

 _But what, I can't decide_

 _Why won't he be the king I know he is?_

 _The king I see inside?_

Seeing her worried glance towards him, Atem realized he was ruining this moment of peace and he wanted them both to enjoy this private moment between them. Besides, there was something about Mana that was changing his feelings towards her. These unfamiliar feelings were making him feel conflicted with how he actually sees her; whether she is simply his best friend since childhood or... something more. Determined to discover what these emotions are, he smiled and smugly ran back into the jungle for a moment, with Mana giving him a bewildered look, trying to figure out what he was up to. All of a sudden, she was surprised that Atem came back swinging on a vine, laughing, before throwing himself in the water.

 _Can you feel the love tonight?_

 _The peace the evening brings_

Mana knelt near the lake and looked into the water where Atem seemed to have disappeared. While looking for where he had went, Atem suddenly jumped out of the water, grabbed a very surprised Mana, and pulled her into the water with him.

A few seconds after, Mana dunked her head out of the water, spitting out water and trying to catch her breath, while swimming. It took her a moment to realize how good the water felt on her body, before looking back at Atem, who was currently laughing at her.

Mana seemed challenged by this, to which she grabbed Atem's head and dunked it underwater. He managed to pull her off him, coughing some water out. It was her turn to laugh at him. He grew annoyed and started splashing water at her, which she splashed back. They laughed, swam, and continued splashing water at each other, playing around just like when they were children.

After a few minutes, Mana gave the final splash to Atem, before swimming back to land. She immediately got out of the lake, put on her shoes, and ran off deeper into the jungle. "Haha, catch me if you can Temmy!"

The prince laughed and immediately went after her. The two ran through a field full of wild flowers, birds chirping and flying out of the spots where they ran.

 _The world, for once, in perfect harmony_

 _With all its living things_

They made it into a very deep and private part of the jungle, full of gigantic overgrown trees, where the moonlight was beginning to expose itself and shine over them. Atem had finally caught up to Mana, who had been playfully teasing him in catching her. He pounced and grabbed her once more, which caused both to lose their balance and went rolling together on a hill, laughing.

They landed comfortably on what seemed to be a gorilla's nest, with leaves gathered in that hollow area. The trees around more seemed to conceal the small, private area, with the exception of the sky.

 _Can you feel the love tonight?_

 _You needn't look too far_

For once, Atem had Mana pinned to the ground and in a very intimate position. He leaned up for a moment, laughing at how much fun their ride down was and how victorious he felt at finally beating his childhood friend in their constant game of tackle. Mana, on the other hand, had very different thoughts. While at first she had laughed with him, she also noticed how close they had become. The way he looked above her, how desperately handsome he had become, the way they bonded and care for one another, and how warm his muscular body felt against hers. She now realized what the unfamiliar feeling she had for her childhood friend for the past few days really was. She had fallen in love with the man above her. Because that's what he was to her now; a man.

Seeing that they were alone together in such a seemingly magical place, she did not pass down the opportunity to express her true feelings. While his eyes were closed and was still laughing, Mana placed her hand softly on his cheek and planted a kiss on there, slightly touching the side of his mouth.

Her unexpected action completely caught the prince by surprise and looked back down at her in shock, blushing. The look she was now giving was no longer the same as the ones before. Right underneath him was a woman in love, who was confessing her feelings through actions. Looking at her like this, he confirmed that he too no longer saw her as simply his best friend, whom he grew up with. She was now a woman in his eyes.

Seeing her dazed expression, he smiled at her, that alone confirming to her that he returned her feelings and leaned down. Mana leaned up a bit, while they both closed their eyes and their lips came closer.

 _Stealing through the night's uncertainties_

 _Love is where they are_

Their lips clashed into a very passionate kiss. Mana's hands left his cheeks and wrapped her arms around his neck. In that moment, they had forgotten everything, including the conflicts they still needed to resolve. All they cared about at the moment was being with one another and expressing their love to each other.

 _And if he feels the love tonight_

 _In the way I do_

Atem broke the kiss and look down at Mana, who was looking back at him with eyes full of lust, passion, and love, which reflected his very own. In that very moment, he knew that they both wanted the same thing; to be one in body and soul.

"Mana, are you sure?" Atem whispered softly. He knew her answer. He could tell by the look in her eyes, but still, he wanted her to confirm it. She smiled, before nodding.

He smiled at her answer before dipping down to kiss her once more. This time their actions became more heated and passionate. Atem began to pull down Mana's straps and soon enough, they were removing each other's clothes. He kissed her neck with such fire and passion, as she trailed her hands on Atem's smooth, yet built back. Her own body shook with anticipation, feeling how strong his movements were and did her best to let herself go by these new feelings and emotions. He could tell she was nervous, which was understandable since he knew she has never been with a man before. He himself was a bit nervous too, because despite his experience, the prince knew this was completely different than anything he had ever felt or experienced before.

 _It's enough for this restless wanderer_

Once they were completely bare, their amulets being the only things they left on, the two looked at one another in awe, their bodies illuminated by the moonlight. Atem looked down at the young mage beneath him, entranced by how beautiful she looked, her long hair spread all over the leaves. "Mana, before we go any further, I just want you to know that I do lo-"

"Shh..." He was stopped by Mana, who softly put her fingertips to his lips, silencing him. She was smiling sweetly at his clueless expression. "You don't have to say anything Temmy. I already know."

She then leaned up and kissed him once more. Atem corresponded to her kiss passionately and laid her back down on the nest.

They made love through the young night, their bodies moving in rhythm together in the moonlight, while kissing, touching, and caressing one another, their eyes filled with love and desire. Atem then buried his face deep into her neck and wrapped her smaller frame into his strong arms. Feeling his smile against her skin, Mana closed her eyes and she too smiled with happiness, while letting the unbridled passion of her prince consume her entire being. Both knew that after tonight, she would be his forever. With the moon and stars being their only witness at this act of love, their free hands and fingers intertwined with one another, gripping each other hard in the midst of their passion.

 _Just to be with you_

As the two young lovers continuously gave themselves to each other in their passionate night of love, they failed to notice that their amulets got tangled with one another, and much less did they notice the small red spark that illuminated the amulets for half a second, before it was gone in a flash.

* * *

 **My god that was embarrassing! It's the first time I write something like this chapter so sorry if it's a little cheesy but I guess this what I get for watching soap operas, Disney love stories, and Romance movies for years (kind of ironic since I'm mainly a horror fanatic). Lol yeah, It turned me into a sucker for romance. Anyhow, I hope you guys liked it. And like I said before, I didn't make anything too explicit, so it wouldn't pass the 'T' rating. But I did put a lot of passion in it.**

 **And apparently Atem wasn't the only one getting it on. XD But yeah I hope you guys liked the reunion and the pairings displayed in this chapter.**

 **(1) I love those chin scenes. Joey is such a funny character, that I just had to put that in! It's a unique trait of his. He's my fourth favorite character under Yusei, Atem, and Kaiba.**

 **(2)** **'Hurria' literally means 'freedom' in Arabic. I was trying to look for it in Ancient Egyptian, but I couldn't find it, so I moved on to the next closest thing to these Ancient Egyptian characters, which is Arabic. A lot of these characters' names, such as Mahad and Shadi, have Arabic names, so I thought, eh, why not? And if you're wondering why I waited until now to give Atem's horse a name, it's because I wasn't originally going to, but then I got tired of referring to it 'that horse', 'animal', or 'Atem's horse'. I thought it would be just easier to give the horse a name. Plus he's supposed to be extremely important to Atem. Yeah I know it's last minute, but hey, at least it's a better name than Copernicus and Yugi would agree. XD**

 **That's it for now folks. I hope you guys liked it. I personally did, since two of my favorite pairings in Yu-Gi-OH were in this. So for the question the day, what do you believe Ishida's gift to Atem was? I'm pretty sure some of you already have an idea. But for now, I leave you guys to guess what it could be. Until the next chapter!**


	10. Chapter 10: Facing Your Shadows

**Hey everyone! It's been such a busy summer, since I work full time. But thanks to the wait, it's given me a lot of time to fully organize and fix this chapter, that I had already finished. It was better for me to organize my ideas, since I no longer have school getting in my way. For now at least.**

 **Anyhow, here is the new chapter of this story. The beginning of it is going to be Vaseshipping. Enjoy it while you can, because by the next few chapters there won't be much of it anymore, since we're heading into the action parts, twists, and plot revelations. In fact, this chapter is going to be the beginning of that. So buckle up and get ready, because by next chapter things are going to start to get bumpy.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-OH or The Lion King. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures**

* * *

Chapter 10: Facing Your Shadows

Atem laid comfortably on the grass, while breathing in the cool air and looking at the sky full of stars. It was quite warm tonight compared to the other cold nights. In fact, he hadn't felt this kind of warmth in his entire life. He sighed in satisfaction as the prince loved how calm and comforting the atmosphere around him was.

He held Mana in his arms, with her head on his bare chest, their legs tangled, and both covered in his brown cloak. She was currently napping, causing him to hear and feel her soft breathing against his neck. He loved having her this close, feeling her warmth even through her undergarments. He too had partly redressed, wearing his kilt, but remained shirtless as he was already use to the cool night.

The young prince ran his hand through her brown hair as he looked down at her sleeping form. He could hardly believe everything that had occurred over the past few days and especially what had happened between them just a few moments ago. Him and Mana reunited after so many years, them spending time together, and the friendship he had with Mana developing into something much deeper and more intimate. It all felt too good to be real, as if he was living in a very beautiful dream.

Every single moment he shared with Mana was engraved in his memory and he kept repeating them in his mind over and over again. The way they touched and caressed one another, an exchange of kisses, passionate words, soft whispers, and how he held her in his arms in the aftermath.

Atem smiled and planted a kiss on Mana's forehead, pulling her closer into his arms. Once they had finished bathing in the afterglow, they had laid there, looking at the stars, talking, and laughing at the shapes they saw the stars form. He remember her beautiful eyes, her laugh, her smile, everything of her made his heart skip a beat.

The whole experience had been amazingly wonderful. Atem had never thought that he would ever feel such strong emotions for anyone; that he could ever be this happy. It made him forget about all the horrible things that have happened in his life.

He continued to stare at the mage, who had been asleep for half an hour already. Playing with her hair, he began wondering of the future. What is to become of their relationship, now that they have taken this step? He really wanted Mana to stay here with him forever. But the question was, would he be able to convince her? Atem wished things would be easier. That way, he would make sure that Mana was extremely happy, living here by his side, away from troubles. Enjoying and having fun with his friends, sharing more nights like this with her, and maybe sometime in the future, have a family with her.

The prince hadn't thought how much his perspective has changed in just a few days. Before Mana reappeared in his life, he thought that having a real relationship with someone, settling down, and having children was something completely trivial. He had been so convinced that they were things he didn't need in his life, would only hold him back in his freedom, and if it was something he was certain he didn't deserve to have. Besides, he didn't think he would find someone that would make him feel this way. Atem was completely fine with his life as a bachelor and his friends were all that he needed.

But now... he wasn't willing to give up this immense felicity he felt at this moment. His childhood sweetheart was worth it. She perhaps could give him the future he had denied himself all those years ago.

At the thought of that, he continued to kiss her forehead tenderly, accidentally causing her to moan in her sleep and began to stir awake. Her eyes fluttered until they were half-open and stared at her lover, who was staring back at her with fascination. A tired smiled crossed her features.

"Um, hi."

"Hello my love. Did you have a good sleep?"

She let out a laugh and rubbed her tired eyes. "Mhm. The best sleep I've had in a long time. Being in your arms is enough to make me forget about everything else out there."

The prince smiled at that and planted a kiss on her lips. She then yawned and looked around.

"What time is it?"

"It's getting quite late. We should probably start heading back." Mana and looked up at him pouted in disappointment, which Atem thought what the cutest thing he had ever seen.

"Oh must we? Can't we just spend the night here or at least stay a little longer?" She then laid her head back on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "I don't want this moment to end just yet."

He couldn't help but notice her content and dazed look, dreamy smile, and sigh of satisfaction, causing him to smirk.

"Well, you seemed have enjoyed it a lot more than I expected." This made her blush slightly in embarrassment and playfully poked his chest and lifted her head to look at him momentarily.

"Oh stop it. You sure are as cocky as usual, my prince. But if it makes you feel any better, then yes I do enjoy it a lot."

Mana laid her head back down on his chest. "Now I understand why those village girls are after you all the time."

He chuckled at her comment and traced his fingers on her shoulder. "Heh, well they're going to have to accept the fact that it's not going to happen, because from now on... "

Atem hugged her closer to him as she snuggled even more into his embrace. Mana looked up at the prince, their eyes meetings. "The only girl I want to be is you." He then closed eyes and breathed in her sweet scent. "After so long, I never thought I could ever have something that could feel so mine."

The magician apprentice let out a laugh and gave him yet another sweet smile. She put her hand on his cheek while his own hands cupped her face.

He captured her lips in a passionate kiss. She corresponded to his kisses and they continued on for a few seconds, before they broke apart and laid back together in the grass. They stayed together in silence for a few moments, just enjoying each others company. He then began to play around with his own amulet, looking at it without reason, that is until he felt something strange on it.

Now curious, he turned that amulet around to its back and held it above him to get a better look. To his surprise, he noticed small carvings of Egyptian hieroglyphics carved onto the amulet.

 _This wasn't here before._

He brought it closer to his view and read the message.

"Prince, is something wrong?" Mana asked, noticing his disconcerted behavior.

"Mana let me see your amulet for a minute?" Mana gave him a questioning look, but did not deny his request. Handing him the moon amulet, Atem looked at it and noticed that it also had hieroglyphics carved on it, except it was a different message.

"I don't believe it. Mana look at this." He got up into a sitting position, Mana following him, while covering her half-naked body with his cloak.

She looked at down at the amulets and gasped, now understanding why Atem was acting so strange.

 _'_ _Love thee'_ had been carved onto the moon amulet.

 _'For all eternity'_ was also carved onto Atem's sun amulet, finishing the message.

The couple stared at the amulet for a minute in thought, bewildered at what they saw, before Mana reacted at last.

"Wait, now that I think about, mother did mention that these amulets were enchanted, remember? She had told me that when our bond was solidified.."

Mana slowed down, before stopping and began to blush, finally realizing what those words had insinuated all this time. Atem too blushed.

"Well... I see that she as well as everyone else was right about us. Though, I never imagined it would be like this."

Mana could hear certain doubt his voice and leaned closer to him."Um Temmy, are you... regretting what happened between us?"

The prince immediately turned to her, disconcerted by what she had just asked.

"No! Of course not Mana!" He then cupped her face into his hands, looking into her worried eyes. "I'm sorry I may have worried you, I have a lot on my mind lately, but believe me. What just happened between us was the best moment of my life. And I don't regret a single moment of it. I'm very serious about this relationship and I'm also serious about you. I love you and I don't want you to doubt a single moment of it."

Mana stared at him in disbelief and felt her heart warm up at his speech. His expression and the look in his eyes were bright and full of honesty. Now feeling silly at even thinking he had regrets, she leaned in and smiled.

"I believe you my prince. And I love you too."

He smiled once more and inched closer, until the two once more joined their lips in another breathtaking kiss that continued on for a few moments. They finally parted for air and smiled at one another, with their cheeks flushed.

Atem then stood up, but not breaking each other's stare. He then offered her a hand. "Come on, it's time for us to head back. It's almost dawn and the others are bound to wake up and start wondering why we haven't made it back. And I honestly do not feel like giving any explanations of what happened here. Especially to Jounouchi."

The mage smiled and sighed, slightly disappointed at having to leave this paradise. Holding the cloak around her body and grabbing her clothes, she accepted his hand and helped pull her up. They then each turned their backs to each other and started to get finish dressing.

"Remember Atem, no peaking." She teased and winked at him with sly smile, before putting her clothes back on.

Catching that, he blushed slightly and let out a chuckle, before turning back to what he was doing as well.

"Heh, after what we did, I don't think that really matters anymore Mana."

She giggled and both were then silent for the next few minutes, focused on getting fully dressed. Atem was the first to be done as he put his brown cloak back into his bag, while tried to fix her golden collar necklace back on. She had trouble putting it on though, so Atem had to help her. Moving her hair aside, he did not fail to admire her beautiful neck, exposed shoulders, refined collarbones and her partly exposed smooth back. _She's so beautiful._

He finished locking the necklace together and Mana turned shyly to face him.

"Are you ready to go?"

She nodded. "Yep."

The prince held her hand and guided her out of the area. Once they were out, they continued to walk for a bit, until an idea crossed Mana's mind.

She suddenly jumped on Atem's back and screamed 'Piggyback!'.

Surprised at first, the prince still smiled and let her ride on his back, just like the old days.

Atem then began to travel back through the same way they came from. Mana kept looking at her surroundings, thinking how everything was even more beautiful at night. She couldn't believe Atem has been living here all these years. But still it made her wonder why he never returned to Egypt.

She froze and that is when everything hit her. Mana had been so caught up in spending with the prince, that she had completely forgotten the problems back in Egypt. At first, she had decided to put it aside and give Atem his space. But now that their relationship was now reestablished, she knew the time had come. They needed to talk. The two had finally reached the waterfall and he began walking on the bridge across from it.

"Isn't this place amazing?" Atem exclaimed.

Yes, it's very beautiful." She sighed. "But there's something I still don't understand Atem. You've been alive here, all this time. Why didn't you ever come back to Egypt?"

The prince stopped his tracks, really wishing she hadn't brought that up. However, he knew he couldn't keep silent and had to come up with an excuse.

"Well..." His arms loosened and let Mana off his back. He then turned to her. "I... just decided that... I needed a life of my own."

He then laid on a couple of vines that formed a sleeping swing. "Live my own life. I did and it is the best decision I've ever made."

Mana was concerned to hear him talk this way. Regardless, she had to keep insisting. "But Atem, we really needed you at home."

Atem turned his gaze from her into a shameful look. "No one needs me." He murmured.

"Yes we do! Of course we do, you're the pharaoh after all!"

"Mana we already talked about this. I'm not the pharaoh. Aknadin is."

The magician apprentice was starting to grow frustrated and looked down, hesitant at telling him the truth for a moment. But seeing how he was negligent in going back, Mana knew she had no other choice, since this might be the only to way to reason with him. She looked back, her expression serious with a hint of sadness.

"Atem, he let the thieves and tomb robbers take over Egypt."

"What?" This caught him by surprise.

"And that's not even the worse part. He has most of our people put into slavery. Then he started using the shadow monsters trapped in the stones tablets to dictate all over Egypt. This angered the gods and they punished us by destroying almost everything, because Aknadin refused to change his ways. He then let Bakura and his other minions kill the sacred court! And then he simply washed his hands, claiming that it wasn't his fault, because he wasn't the one who ordered Bakura to kill them, even though he could have ordered him not to. He didn't do anything to stop it and he's the reason why this whole mess happened in the first place!"

"My gods... but why would Aknadin do such a thing?"

"Because he's evil. He doesn't care what happens to us or to our precious kingdom. All he cares about is power and that no one questions is authority. He's so buried in his own greed and ambition, he won't listen to anyone."

Atem couldn't believe what he was hearing. His uncle did all this against his own people. The very kingdom his father had worked so hard rule and maintain peace, had been destroyed by his own brother.

"Because of him, everything is destroyed. There's no food or water. Atem, please. You're alive, you're the only one who can fix this. If you don't do something soon, everyone is going die!"

He felt guilt-ridden at Mana pleading him like this and help her solve the grave situation their kingdom was in. But his consciousness got the better of him and shook his head negatively.

"I can't." He got off the swing and tried to walk away, but Mana grabbed him by the arm.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"WHAT wouldn't I understand exactly?!" She was getting frustrated by his attitude and he decided to find a way to explain myself. He turned to her.

"It doesn't matter. Shinpai nai."

Mana gave him a strange look. "What?"

"Shinpai nai. look, sometimes horrible things happen in life..."

"Atem, please!"

"And there's nothing you can do about it. So why worry about it?"

He turned and started walking, but Mana caught up with him, walking right next to him, refusing to give up.

"Because it's your responsibility!"

He stopped for a moment. Her insistence at reminding him what his place is-was in Egypt was making him angry and was not willing to tolerate anymore. He turned to her once more.

"What about you and Isis?! You both left without any problem, didn't you?!"

"We left to find help! And we found you! Don't you understand Atem, you're the only hope we have left."

Despite her hoping her words would get to him, he turned his head negatively. "Sorry."

This broke Mana's belief in him and couldn't help but give him a look of disappointment . "What's happened to you all these years? You're not the Atem I remember."

This made him feel bitter at hearing her say that. "You're right. I'm not. Are you satisfied now?"

His statement was stern and started walking away, not wanting to hear her lecture him anymore. Mana simply shook her head.

"No. Just disappointed in you." He snapped his teeth in annoyance and continued walking.

"You know you're starting to sound just like my father right now." He continued to walk away, without looking at her. She glared angrily at him and retorted lowly.

"Good. At least one of us does."

That made him stop his tracks as her words hit him like a ton of bricks and he had reached his breaking point. Furious, he turned to Mana.

"Listen! You think you can just suddenly appear out of nowhere and tell me how to live MY life?! You don't even have the slightest idea of what I've had to go through!"

After practically yelling into Mana's face, he turned and stormed off.

"I would you would just tell!" She insisted one last time.

"Forget about it!" He yelled angrily, while he continued to walk away, not looking back.

"Fine!" Mana yelled back and turned her head, while stubbornly crossing her arms.

The prince didn't look back and kept walking ahead, finding someplace quiet where he may cool down and clear his thoughts. He finally made it out of the jungle and into the open savanna. He then started walking back and forth, fighting with his thoughts.

"She's wrong. She has to be." He insisted with himself. "There's no way I can go back. What will it prove either way? It won't change anything. Nothing can be done to change the past."

Atem then desperately looked up at the sky full of stars.

"YOU SAID YOU WOULD ALWAYS BE THERE FOR ME!" He yelled out desperately, hoping his father heard him, before wallowing up in his own guilt. "But you're not here. You're gone forever. And it's all my fault. My fault..."

He kept repeating that phrase over and over again, before lowering his head in pain and guilt. The prince then stood there silent for a moments, mourning. Despite the negative feelings that were going through, he still appreciated the silence that surrounded. However, that silence was broken when he started hearing someone singing random words that made no sense to him.

He turned and saw an old man in dark-brown robes and holding a wooden staff happily singing, while watching him from affar. Slightly annoyed, Atem left the area, thinking it was just an old beggar who has lost his marbles.

The man, who turned out to be Shimon, giggled, happy at seeing Atem after so many years and proud at how much he's grown.

Meanwhile Atem managed to find a more quiet area, where he sat on a log that crossed above a pond. The prince looked around, noticing that not too far from him was his white horse, Hurria, who was calmly eating the grass around him. He smiled at his loyal friend, before turning his attention back down to the pond. He put his hand on his face and sighed, while looking down at his reflection in thought. But once again, his moment of peace was interrupted as a rock was thrown into the pond. Startled, the prince turned and saw the same old man singing in gibberish louder than before. He began to grow even more annoyed and frustrated.

"Sir would to please stop already?" He got up and started to leave again Shimon only laughed and continued to follow him.

"I'm afraid I can't young man."

Atem started walking faster, hoping to lose the old man, but to his surprise, was able to keep up with him.

"Senile old man. Would you stop following me?!" But Shimon finally caught up to him and stood in front of him. "Just who are you?"

Shimon merely pointed his staff directly towards the youth's face. "That is not the issue here. The REAL question is WHO are YOU?"

The prince opened his jaw in shock right before he could answer, hearing how that question was asked. He then looked down, feeling insecure. "I thought I knew. Now I'm not even sure anymore."

"Well I happen to know who you are!" Shimon claimed optimistically and waved Atem to lean closer. "Come here, it is a secret."

Despite still thinking the old man was a looney, curiosity got the better of him and leaned in. Just when Shimon seemed he was about to reveal something important, he started singing loudly in gibberish and started dancing like a crazy. This irritated the teen even more.

"Enough already! Is that even supposed to mean anything?"

"Yes, it means you are a dummy. And I am not." Shimon giggled at his own comment, while Atem gave him a sarcastic look.

"I think you're a little confused."

"Wrong! I am not the one whose confused. You do not even know who you are young one."

Atem scoff, and started to make his way away from Shimon. "Oh and I suppose you know." He commented sarcastically.

"Of course I do. You're the son of Aknamkanon ."

This made the prince freeze in his place and his expression in shock. He then turned to the old man, who was at a good distance, smiling at him.

"Bye." That was all he said before running off, causing the prince to panic and run after him.

"Wait! Come back!" He ran for a short while, surprised that an old man can run with such speed. It wasn't long until he found Shimon sitting on a rock, praying. Atem stopped next to him.

"You knew my father?" He asked desperately.

"Correction, I know your father." Hearing him take about his father in present tense, the young heir became saddened, thinking the man didn't know the pharaoh died.

"I hate to tell you this, but...my father died...many years ago."

To his surprise though, instead seeing a shocked expression, which was what the prince expected, Shimon jumped off the log eagerly. "Nope! Wrong again! Your father is very much alive and I will show him to you so that you may see him with your own eyes."

He then pointed a pathway back into the jungle. "Follow me! I know how we must get there! Come!"

Shimon headed inside the jungle, causing Atem to run after him. The prince kept having trouble following the old man, since he was currently in a section of the jungle he did not recognize.

"Stop!" Shimon suddenly appeared in front of the prince, with his hand in front, causing him to stop in his tracks. The elder man then slowly pointed behind him. "Look in there."

Atem did as he was told and quietly made his way through, with Shimon watching him intently. He made it to a crystal clear pond and looked into it, only seeing his reflection. He sighed in disappointment.

"That is not my father. It is simply my reflection."

"No!" Shimon insisted, pointing back into the water. "Look closer and you will see."

The prince tried once more, fully concentrating into looking for what Shimon wanted him to see. After a few seconds, his reflection disappeared and morphed into his father, who had the same serious expression as he did when he was alive. Atem looked intently with wide eyes.

"Do you see now? He lives in you." Shimon said before disappearing out of sight for the moment. At the same time, the prince felt a strong wind coming his way.

The prince then started to glow golden, which startled him and looked at himself in shock. "What the?! What going on?!"

 _"Atem..."_

The teen was shocked at the far too familiar voice, a voice he never thought he would ever hear again, while the sky and clouds began to form the figure of a man.

"Father?" He looked up and was so astonished at what he was seeing, that he failed to noticed the golden light leaving his body and disintegrated into the sky. The light then surrounded a spiritual entity, which Atem recognized as his father, Pharaoh Aknamkanon himself. The entire moment appeared so majestic before the prince's eyes that it seemed as if he was looking at a god.

 _"Atem, you have forgotten me."_

"No, I could never forget you father."

 _"You have forgotten who you are and so, you have forgotten me. Look at yourself Atem. You are more than what you have become my boy. You must take your place as the rightful heir to Egypt's throne. Our people depend on you Atem and only you have the power hold our kingdom together."_

"But how can I return?!" He questioned his father with desperation. "I am not the same person I use to be."

 _"Remember who you are. You are my son. And the one true pharaoh. Remember..."_

Soon, Aknamkanon's spirit began to diminish into the sky, causing Atem to panick and ran after him.

"Father wait! Don't go! Please! Don't leave me again! Father!"

 _"Remember..."_ The pharaoh's spirit continued echoing that same phrase, until he completely disappeared from the sky, causing everything to go back to normal. Atem had stopped his tracks, wanting to hold onto to his father once more.

"Don't leave me..." He continued to look on where his father had been and couldn't help but notice how his entire being glowed golden once more before wearing off. However, this time he wasn't startled and instead looked at his hands as he now knew his father lived within him and was counting him to do what was right.

Everything was silent once more as the adolescent was left thinking over of what his father had just told him. He knew what he had to do, but it just wasn't that easy.

He suddenly felt a bright, warm light shine through his bag, causing him to cover his eyes. The light only lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared, just like his father's spirit had a few moments ago. Intrigued by this, Atem looked into his bag and tried to find the object that was the source of that bright light. The only things he had in there were his brown cloak, his dagger, and the mysterious box Sensei Ishida had given him as a present for his day of birth.

Knowing it couldn't have been the cloak or the dagger that caused that light, Atem assumed it had to be the box. He took it out, seeing it was still wrapped in the green cloth. However, the weight felt heavier and not as hollow as before. He shook the box and heard the clanking of small objects inside. Even more curious, Atem began to unwrapped the box. He continued, until he was surprised to see that beneath the cloth was gold. He finished unwrapping the object and right in his hands was a golden box. But the most shocking detail that caught his attention of the box was the fact that it had the infamous Egyptian Eye of Wadjet, the same eye that was carved onto the Millennium Items, with the exception of Shadi's Millennium Key.

But how is it that his sensei could have gotten his hands on this? And how was he connected to all this? Suddenly, he realized something very important.

 _Wait! So does that mean, he knew all along? Sensei Ishida knew who I really was from the beginning? Well, remembering what he told me the day he gave me this and the fact that he even had this in his possession, it would only make sense that he knew. But the question is, how does he know so much about me and my heritage?_

So many questions were running through Atem's mind as he looked back down at the box. Curious to see what was inside, the prince opened the box. His breath came to a halt and his eyes were wide as plates.

 _The pieces of my father's_ _Millennium Puzzle! But how is this even possible?!_

Now he was even more confused than ever before. How is it that he was now in position of the pieces of this Millennium Item? The last time he saw the Millennium Puzzle was so many years ago, around his father's neck the day he-

Atem shook those thoughts out of his head, not wishing to relive that horrible moment or let the guilt overwhelm him again, especially now that had so many questions that needed to be answered. Thinking back on the operative, the prince continued to wonder how is it that it ended up in Master Ishida's hands when his father was the last one to have it. Nothing was making sense.

"Well that was some weather!" Shimon's voice sarcastically commented put of the blue, causing him to turn his attention to him. "It sure has been a long time since we had these kinds of strong winds."

The prince continued to look at him curiously, until he noticed the old man was holding something in his other hand. Examining it closer, he realized it was his katana.

"Hey! That's my-"

"I know, young one. I came from talking to your master. He was here a few moments ago and told me to give you this. He said that you will need in your future journey."

Atem walked to Shimon and took his sword from him, still very confused at all this. "Is that all he told you or was there more?"

Shimon nodded. "He told me everything. The reason why he had the Millennium Puzzle in his possession is because Shadi had given it to him to keep hidden."

"What?! Shadi is involved in this too?! But how is it that they know each other? And how or better yet, when did he give him the puzzle?"

The old man cleared his throat and continued.

"The very night following your father's death, Shadi returned to the destroyed village of Balat in search for some answers. Instead, he found the Millennium Puzzle scattered into pieces. Realizing that he could not let this item fall into Aknadin's hands, he decided to keep the puzzle as far away from Egypt as possible. Kenji Ishida, your teacher, is a long-time friend of Shadi, which he met during one of his travels to other countries. Shadi had saved his life from dying in the desert, when Ishida first came from his home land and your master swore he would be forever in his debt. Shadi explained to him the situation, since he knew that he was the only one who he can actually trust to keep the Millennium Puzzle safe and where Aknadin may never find it. A few days later, he met you when his other students brought you to him. The moment he heard your name, he knew that you were the Egyptian prince that everyone had proclaimed dead and the rightful owner to this item. Ishida was certain that fate brought you to him and the puzzle, therefore decided to train you, until you were ready to receive this item and return as Egypt's rightful king."

The prince was impacted by everything he just heard. This whole time, Sensei Ishida knew about his true identity. Now everything made sense. His final words after he passed the last test of his training, his dedication to training him to his full potential, his connection to Shadi, everything. He thought that the moment he left Egypt, his old life was over, that it was left in the past. But in reality, fate and destiny had planned everything, to protect him from the evil that took over his kingdom and prepare him so that one day, he may return and vanquish it.

He then looked at the sky, feeling the cool breeze hit his face. Everything felt different now. He could feel a new determination grow within him.

"I can feel the winds changing."

"True, they are. Change is a good thing."

"Yes, but it's not easy. I know what I must do in order to face my past, but I've been running away from for so long that..."

He was interrupted as Shimon suddenly just randomly knocked him on the head with his wooden staff, causing Atem to hold his head in pain. "OW! What the hell did you do that for?!"

The old man shrugged and laughed. "It doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past."

"Yes, but it still hurts..." The prince continued to rub his sore head.

"Oh yes, the past can hurt. But there are two options you can choose. You can either run from the past or... learn from it."

At that moment, Shimon tried to hit Atem with his staff again. However, this time, the prince saw it coming and dodge the blow from reaching his head.

"Ha! I knew it! You can learn after all! So tell me, what do you plan to do now?"

The prince gave a mischievous look for a moment. "Well, first, I'm going to take your staff." He then snatched the wooden staff out of the old man's hands and threw it across from them.

"No! Not my staff!" Shimon panicked and immediately ran after it. By the time he finally got it, he turned towards the prince, ready to scold him, when to his surprise, Atem was already riding away on Hurria.

"My prince! Where are you going?!"

"I'm going back!" Atem yelled back before departing out of the savanna.

At hearing those words, Shimon felt joy, excitement, and happiness fill him as he jumped around excitedly.

"Good! Go on boy! Get out of here!" The old man continued to celebrate as the true pharaoh began his journey on returning to Egypt.

()()()()()()

Mana was currently roaming within the jungle alongside Isis, where they were heading towards the cabin where Atem and his friends usually were. After that heated argument, Mana had managed to calm down and go back to the village to get Isis, so that they may both talk to the prince. Mana had told the priestess everything that had occurred, but of course, avoiding any warm details about what happened between her and the prince.

Despite their argument, Mana knew this would not come between them, since this had nothing to do with their relationship, but rather an outside dilemma that Atem was going through, which she was certain had something to do with his father. She only hoped that after calming down, he would give into reason once she and Isis talk to him. Mana took her to the waterfall, which the last place she saw him, hoping to find him nearby. But to their surprise, the prince was nowhere to be found. After a while of looking for him, they decided to find his friends at the cabin instead, as they might know where he was. Perhaps he decided to head back there for the night.

During their way there, Isis kept asking Mana if there was something wrong with her, which the young mage kept answering with a 'no'. While she didn't understand why the priestess kept asking her as she didn't find herself different, Isis had noticed there was definitely something different about her, since she returned from the jungle. Physically, nothing was different, but her behavior was certainly off. She seemed more calm, a little more mature, and her eyes seemed to have a certain spark added to them. It was as if the childish demeanor the magician apprentice usually had was starting to diminish.

Mana on the other hand, was getting tired of her constant questioning and hurriedly made it to the cabin to avoid further interrogation. She entered the cabin first with Isis following close behind her. She couldn't help but giggle of how the boys slept. Particularly Jo and Honda, who had their arms and legs spread out on the bed, and were both snoring loudly. Mean while Yugi was snuggled in his own bed, while Bobassa slept on a large, thick, colored blanket on the floor. She tiptoed towards Jo, and began to nudge him on the arm.

"Hey Jo. Come on wake up." The sleeping boy didn't budge and Mana decided to keep trying, pushing his shoulder even rougher. "Can you wake up already?" She even tried moving Honda too, but despite her attempts, neither boy was even close to waking up. Jo even moved positions to the other side, his back facing her now. The young mage was now frustrated and decided to take drastic measures. She walked back outside of the cabin, pulling Isis with her.

"Mana, what are you doing?"

"They left me no choice. If they don't want to wake up the easy way, then I will wake them up the hard way."

She then lifted up her wand and waved it a few times. Before anyone realized, a very strong wind seemed to appear inside the cabin, causing havoc in there.

"GAH! WHERE THE HELL DID THIS TORNADO COME FROM?!" Jo's screaming voice was heard from inside the cabin, causing Mana to smile in triumph. Soon the others screamed as well, while Bobassa was simply laughing. Before she knew it, both Jo and Honda came out running and screaming out of the cabin, with their clothes and hair all messy. They both fell to the floor in front of the two women, trying to recover from that unpleasant "alarm clock". However, as soon as they saw Mana's shadowy figure hovering over them, they screamed in horror and hugged one another, not realizing it was her.

"Hey would you two relax?! It's me, Mana!" She yelled at them, trying to get them to stop screaming. Eventually, they did and Jo squinted closer as he finally recognized her.

"Oh it's you." He said confirming in a monotone voice. She, however, was still smiling, seeing how her spell had worked just like she wanted it to.

"Well it seems my little wake-up call did work like a charm."

Both boys froze at that, looking at each other for a moment in shock, before they looked back at Mana in accusation.

"YOU DID THAT?!" They both yelled, causing her to laugh even more. Even Isis was giggling a bit and had temporarily taken back everything she had thought about Mana before as her mischievous, childish persona seemed to have returned.

"Wow Mana. That was a really cool spell. I didn't know you can do something as amazing as that." Yugi commented, who was coming out of the cabin, his hair also messy. But rather than angry and offended like his other two friends, he was actually impressed. "Can you do anything else?"

"YES!" Bobassa exclaimed early, as he ran towards Mana with excitement. "Please show us!"

"DON'T ENCOURAGE HER!" Jo and Honda screamed at both Yugi and Bobassa, to which Mana giggled some more.

"I wish I could, but we really don't have time for that. I only did it, because I needed to find a way to wake you guys up."

Jo jumped to his feet, gasping loudly. "Don't EVER do that again! One of these days you're gonna give me a heart-attack!"

Mana simply shrugged. "No promises."

Isis stepped forward. "We were just wondering if you happen to know where the prince might be."

Jo then turned to Mana. "We thought he was with you."

"Yeah, I mean weren't you two spending some quality time together or something?"

Despite that Honda was being direct and didn't mean it in a embarrassing way, Mana couldn't help but slightly blush at the mention of 'quality time' and look away with a smile, remembering the very intimate moment of passion she shared with Atem. None of them seemed to notice this, with the exception of Isis, who was secretly giving her a suspicious look, especially after seeing that same spark in her eyes from earlier return in a flash. After much thinking, she managed to put the two and two together.

"Um...yeah...well he was but now we can't find him." She claimed, her embarrassment subsiding and focusing on the main issue at hand. "I brought Isis with me because we need to talk him. But if he's not with you, then where can he be?"

"Ho, ho! I'm afraid you won't find him here children!"

They all turned to the new voice and saw an old man standing on a very high tree root ascending from the ground.

"Shimon?! What are you doing here?!" Both women questioned in surprise. They had recognized him as one of the previous pharaoh's former sacred guardians and queen Nefertiti's uncle, whom had appeared to them and introduced himself as such, after Aknadin's reign over Egypt began. He then then had been secretly supporting them for the past eight years, such as with food, water, medicine, etc, though it was barely enough to keep only a handful of them alive. Regardless, they had been eternally greatful with the old man.

"I am simply here to inform you that his royal highness is nowhere near here." He then put his arm across his chest and made a little bow. "For you see, the pharaoh has returned."

Isis and Mana gasped in surprise and happiness. "I can't believe it. Atem's really gone back..."

"Yay! Our little friend is going to be king! This is truly wonderful news!" Bobassa then began to dance bounce with excitement."

"Gone where exactly?!" Jo questioned, confused as ever, while turning to look at Shimon, However, to their surprise, the old shaman had disappeared in a flash just as how he reappeared. "Just what the hell is going on here?! Whose the old guy?!"

"Atem has gone back to challenge Aknadin!"

"Aknadin?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, Aknadin."

"What's an aknadin?" Bobassa questioned stupidly.

"No, no, no! It's his uncle!"

"The old guy's his uncle?!" Jo asked.

"No! I mean yes, him too, but THAT'S NOT THE POINT!"

The boys became silent at the girl's outburst as Mana panted in frustration before taking a deep breath to calm herself, before starting over. "Look. Atem went back to Egypt to challenge his uncle Aknadin, his father's brother, who is currently ruling Egypt, so that he may take his place as king."

"Ooohhh..." The trio said in unison, understanding Mana's calm explanation, to which she let out a sigh of relief. There were a few seconds of silence as the boys let the information sink in.

"So Atem really is going to Egypt alone to be the new pharaoh? And he's never- wait a minute! Atem is going alone to fight his uncle?!" Yugi exclaimed, realizing how grave the situation really was.

Before Mana could respond, Isis did in her place. "No Yugi. Mana and I are going after him, because the great evil that has taken over our land is far too powerful for him to fight off alone. And I am not referring to only Aknadin. In this fight, not only must we recover our precious kingdom, but the fate of the world also depends on this."

"Isis, we have to hurry and catch up to him! Atem must be already traveling deep in desert already." The priestess nodded in agreement.

"Right. Let us head back and prepare for departure." However as the women started to take their leave, their path was immediately blocked by an angry Jo.

"Now wait just a second! If you girls think you're planning on leaving us out, when our pal is going into war, then you're completely out of ya minds! We're Atem's friends too and if he needs all the help he can get, then we're gonna be there, fighting with him till the end. So we're going with you and that's that!"

Both girls looked bewildered at the blonde's attitude and determination.

"Exactly!" Honda jumped in. "We've been with Atem through thick and thin. And he's never let us down, so we're not planning on letting him down. So if you ladies plan on helping him fight this war, then count us in."

Yugi also nodded with his other two friends. "I'm going too. Atem's our friend and if he needs our help, then we'll be there, fighting by his side."

"Yes!" Bobassa clapped. "We will help little Atem become king, even though to me, he will always be little Atem."

Isis and Mana looked at one another, astonished at just how loyal Atem's friends were and how much they cared for him. He was indeed blessed to have crossed paths with them.

"Thank you so much guys."

"You have no idea how greatful we are for what you are all doing for our prince." Isis bowed her head in respect.

Jo just waved his hand, brushing it off. "Ah, forget about it ma'am. Now let's get packin' and get ready to kick some ass. The longer we wait, the more danger our pal might be in. Come on!" He then ran back into the cabin, with Honda running after him

"Hey wait for me!"

Mana smiled at them before looking back Yugi and Bobassa. However, her attention was caught on Yugi, who was currently looking towards something, deep in thought. She followed his line of view and realized he was looking at the same place where Shimon had been.

"Yugi, is something wrong?"

The boy didn't turn back, but answered her. "I don't know. It's just that old man that was here a few minutes ago. He seems strangely familiar to me, but I can't put my finger on it."

"You mean Shimon?"

"Yeah. I mean I know it sounds crazy, since I know I've never met him before. But at the same time, I feel like I've either seen him from somewhere or through someone. Like if he reminded me of someone else."

The women and even Bobassa exchanged looks of confusion. But then Yugi scratched his head sheepishly. "Heh heh. Maybe I'm just being silly and over thinking things. I should probably get those ideas out of my head and start getting ready to leave. Come on Bobassa!"

"Right behind you!"

They both left to their cabin as Mana and Isis watched.

"Okay, that was weird. Don't you think so Isis?"

"Yes it was definitely strange. But as young Yugi said, it might be just a coincidence." Mana shrugged.

"Yep, it could be..." A few moments passed before a previous thought came back to Isis and a teasing smile appeared on her face.

"Ahem, so Mana, what did exactly happen between you and the prince, when you were both alone in the jungle?" Mana froze in her place. "Because that look on your face earlier says something much more than just a friendly walk in the jungle."

The young magician's face turned bright red as she started stutter nervously. "I um, d-don't know what you're talking about! Oh no, look it's getting late! We should probably head back to the village and get our things ready! Hee, hee!"

She laughed nervously, while fidgeting as she began walking ahead. Isis smiled at the embarrassed girl, feeling a tingling feeling of satisfaction, remembering all the times Mana use to tease and embarrass her and Mahad, when they were children.

 _I guess this is what it feels like to get payback._

But despite that, she felt happy for the girl and the prince. Now she only hoped that everything turned out their way for the greater good. Prince Atem giving into reason and returning to Egypt to reclaim his rightful place as pharaoh was the first step. Now came the hard part. The beginning of the fight between good and evil, where Egypt and the rest of humanity's fate was at stake.

Isis began to walk back to the village as well, inwardly praying.

 _Mahad, please hang in there._

* * *

 **Yes! Finally finished the chapter! I tried putting a lot of romance and a lot Vaseshipping in this and the previous chapter, because starting next chapter, there's not going to be room for anymore of these huge lovey-dovey scenes in a while, since the war against Aknadin, Bakura, & The Dark One is soon to begin. I'm going to try and fit in one more small romantic scene, however, it's going to be with a different pairing, which I'm not going to mention. You're just going to have to find out the next chapter. **

**Also the scene with Atem and the golden light surrounding him and then forming into Pharaoh Aknamkanon. If you saw Season 5, that actually happened. The pharaoh had sealed a piece of his soul into Atem, so that he could save him in the future from being devoured by the evil spirits of Kul Elna. Also, that is another thing Simba and Atem have in common. Their fathers, although dead, continued to live within their sons, and then one day, their spirits appear in front of them and tell them they need to save their kingdom. Coincidence? I think not! It's mind blowing I know. Well, that's that. Until the next time, everyone.  
**


	11. Chapter 11: Back to Egypt

**Hola Muchachos! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2018!** **Hope you all had a fun Halloween, great Thanksgiving, marvelous Christmas, and fun New Year's Eve. I sure had fun. Got a lot of candy ate a lot of turkey, got a lot of presents, and drank almost an entire bottle of red wine for New Years. Got really drunk, but surprisedly didn't get a hangover for the next day. lol Yeah, I know it's been a long time, but I got very busy with school and work. I know, it's just that I have a life too and a career to finish. So where we had last left off was when Prince Atem finally had some sense knocked into him and decided to start his quest in returning to Egypt so that he may fulfill his destiny. His friends, allies, and loved ones soon follow. Meanwhile, things continue to fall apart back home, as Mahad's fate is still unknown and Aknadin still has the entire kingdom at the brink of total destruction, without any hope of recovery.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Yu-Gi-Oh, The Lion King, or any of the characters. Full rights go to Kazuki Takahashi & Walt Disney Pictures.**

* * *

Chapter 11: Back To Egypt

Seto laid in his bed, trying to catch some sleep, but was unable to do so. It had been this way for the past couple of nights.

It had been hard to register that the very man who had taken him in, who personally trained him, taught him everything he needed to know, was part of the reason why he was able to reach his full potential and make as far as he did, had turned into such a monster. After hearing what had happened to Mahad, it didn't surprise him as much, considering all the terrible things he has done to Egypt in the past, but the impact of the news was still as shocking to him. It hurt to accept this, but the high and admirable image he once had of Aknadin had crumbling down beneath his feet. It caused him pain, a lot more than it should, but he had learned to live with it.

Now he was more worried about the situation Mahad was in. Despite the favoritism the pharaoh showed towards him over the years, offering him his unconditional help and support, though he never understood why, Seto had remained loyal to his colleagues and the people of Egypt.

It was an oath he made to the previous Pharaoh Aknamkanon and Prince Atem. When Aknadin had taken over the throne, he was quite shocked at first, especially when Aknadin had allowed thieves, tomb robbers, and exiled nobles into Egypt. But the Aknadin had convinced him that it was for the greater good of Egypt. He claimed it was necessary in order for their powerful empire to flourish even more than when his brother was here. The young Seto at the time, believed him and thought he was only honoring the memory of his brother and nephew, by taking care of their precious kingdom. He also had asked Seto for his loyalty and support, so that one day when he was ready, he would be priest and his right-hand man. Seto had agreed, thinking it was an honor that he would be able to help the very kingdom that had offered him a new opportunity.

But as time went by, he began to notice that Aknadin's words were far from true. Enslaving the people of Egypt, who were going through poverty, which became worse when he brought up the taxes. How freely he had allowed Bakura, those mysterious dark-cloaked men with red eyes, and his other minions to do as they pleased in Egypt, especially how they tortured and abused the slaves. But the worse was when he used and forced those with powerful _ka_ battle one another to the death, which angered the gods and had send the plagues as punishment for his treachery. The Plagues themselves had finished destroying their once powerful kingdom and Aknadin didn't even lift a finger to try and repair the damage he had done, nor to stop his abusive laws.

The former sacred guardians, along with the nobles families that were still loyal to their late pharaoh, all knew that this madness needed to stop. This lead to a rebellion. Before they had formed their plan for their revolution against the malevolent pharaoh, the guardians and nobles had made sure to evacuate their children out of the city for a few days.

Having no other family and being under Aknadin's wing, he had no choice but to stay. Therefore, only he, along with Queen Nefertiti, were the ones who witnessed how the scared guardians were destroyed one by one at the hands of Bakura and the Dark Servants. Aknadin once more, didn't do anything, and claimed that it was their punishment for defying him. But to Seto and everyone else, it was a monstrosity. It was as if he was reliving the destruction of his village, the lost of his mother and friends all over again.

From that moment on, Seto despised Aknadin more than ever. Deep down, it made him feel awful to have such a strong, negative feeling towards the former priest, but it was a feeling that he could not avoid. When the others had returned, it was he and the queen who taken the burden on their shoulders and tell the news of their families' deaths. They cried, mourned, and suffered for them. Seto understood their pain, knowing exactly what it like to lose your loved ones. At that moment Seto promised himself that in memory of the former pharaoh, his son, and of all those who died because of Aknadin's reign, he will help his colleagues and his people find a way to put an end to all this, and when he does, he will do everything in his power to destroy Aknadin and his underlings.

As for now, Seto had decided to remain by Aknadin's side, pretending to serve him loyally, while gathering as much information as possible that could be convenient for him and the others. Right now, he was more focused on finding a way to help Mahad. He still couldn't believe that Aknadin had threatened to give Mana away to Bakura as his personal toy, since Mahad hadn't accepted his condition. He didn't know what the condition was; the others refused to tell him, claiming it didn't matter anymore now that Mana was gone. But knowing now how corrupt and power-hungry Aknadin, he knew it couldn't be anything good, since the pharaoh always took advantage of situations like this for his convenience, even if it meant toying with the life of an innocent girl. But he completely understood why Mahad acted the way he did, and he would have done the same if he were in the same situation.

A soft knock interrupted his thoughts as he looked towards the door. Groaning and annoyed, he got off his bed and walked towards it. The same knocking was heard once more before he opened the door. Before him revealed to be a beautiful young woman. She was a petite, light-skinned woman with long, soft locks that were as white as snow. Meanwhile her eyes, which were what captivated Seto the most, were as blue as the ocean. The girl was dressed in brown rags and had smudges of dirt on her face. It was quite obvious she was a slave, but despite her disheveled appearance, it wasn't enough to hide her beauty. She was holding a tray with food and a cup of wine, while smiling at him.

Seto had lost his annoyed expression and returned her smile.

"Kisara."

"Priest Seto."

"What are you do here this late at night?" Not that he really cared; he was just happy to see her. And besides, it wouldn't be the first time she was in his room at night.

The girl pulled a strand behind ear, looking bashful. "My Lord, I have seen you so stressed so I thought I might come around and check on you. You have been so stressed lately, especially with everything that has been happening with Priest Mahad. Speaking of which, I also came here to tell you I am sorry for your friend."

Seto moved forward and grabbed the tray from her hand and put on the nearest night stand. Always so kind and supportive Kisara, though there is no reason for you to be so formal. I have told you so many times to drop the formalities when we are alone. Especially after everything that has happened between us."

She blushed slightly, knowing exactly what he was referring to. "Of course my lor- I mean Seto."

The young priest smirked at her expression, finding it humorous.

"Worry not. And I thank you for your concern about Mahad. But I will find a way to save him. That you can guarantee."

Kisara nodded. "I'm sure you will. And I will help you."

"Thank you again Kisara." They stared at each, thinking for a few minutes before a thought crossed Seto's mind and smirked. "But as of now, why don't we focus on us?"

He leaned closer to her and immediately wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his arms, while closing behind them. She gasped in surprise. "I love you. You are my everything and the only thing that is truly mine." He then planted a kiss on her lips, before repeatedly give her more and more. "Kisara, let me be with you tonight."

His kisses continued downward on his love's lips. "S-Seto, I-I want to be-mmm- w-with you too but-" She placed a hand on his to stop his kisses, since he wasn't letting her talk. She breathed slowly, trying to recover from that short passionate moment they just had. "Someone might find out about us and-"

"No one else comes across near here. We needn't worry about that. Besides, I am tired of keeping our relationship a secret. I'd say let the world know about us. That way, I can set you free from this enslavement forever."

The young woman giggled. "You know what consequences that will bring, especially if the pharaoh finds out." The priest scoffed angrily.

"I could care less of what Aknadin thinks at this point! After everything he has done against our kingdom and our people, the last thing he deserves is my respect or loyalty. He may have taught me everything I know and given me the opportunity to enhance my potential, but it doesn't change the fact that what he has done is unforgivable. He and Bakura have done nothing more than bring misery to this land. Besides he's not my father to be intervening in my personal life."

Kisara gave him a compassionate look and caressed his cheek softly. "I understand you Seto. But it's too risky and you know it."

"Yes, I know. But I don't want to talk about that or of Aknadin anymore. Let's enjoy the time we have together. I want you to be mine again." The priest took the young slave into his arms once more and began to kiss her with much more passion. Kisara responded to him and kissed him back with just as much force. Seto's lips trailed down to her neck, to which she moaned and whispered a 'I love you' to him.

That one phrase was enough for Seto to continue on forward as he lead Kisara to his bed, while kissing her and leaving their clothes trailing behind on the floor. For the rest of the night, they had completely forgotten about everything and let themselves be consumed by their forbidden passion.

()()()()()()

Pharaoh Aknadin sat on his throne, having just arrived from yet another meaningless search, only to come back empty-handed... again.

Aknadin was growing frustrated with all this as he is already full of problems. Deciding that thinking about how they couldn't find the puzzle would not solve anything at the moment, he decided to focus on solving his other problems. Among them, being his son Seto.

The king was frustrated at how the young priest has been acting lately. Yes, Seto ha managed to work his way into becoming. One would say that it was because, since Aknadin had always favored him for some reason they didn't know (not even Seto), he would only be logical that he would make the young village boy into one of his most trusted servants. And perhaps favoritism did slightly influence in Aknadin's decision.

But mostly because Seto proved to be far more than people thought he would be capable of. The boy turned out to have a brilliant mind, something that surprised everyone, even his own father. Aknadin then took upon himself to train him Seto. During the past few years, the boy had worked his way up the ranks, until he was finally able to achieve in becoming a sacred guardian, thus being chosen by the Millennium Rod as its keeper. Unbeknownst to Aknadin, even though Seto was great full with his support, Seto secretly resented the former priest for his actions against Egypt.

However, recently Aknadin has noticed that Seto has become more rebellious towards him and he knew perfectly well why. There have been many slaves being transported to Cairo from different regions of Egypt over the past few years, some of them being foreigners. Among these foreigners was a girl with pale skin and snow-white hair. Her name was Kisara.

When this girl and Seto saw each other for the first time at her arrival to the palace, they seemed surprised as if they had seen each other before. From that moment, Seto immediately claimed her as own personal slave, even though he had refused many times before to take any other slaves under his command. Aknadin may not know where or how his son and that girl may have known each other, but he knew for a fact that they have met before and also the fact that Seto became infuriated with her over the time.

At first Aknadin paid no heed to it, thinking it was just a whim, a fancy of his son to pass the time and which he would eventually get bored of. But when Aknadin had then planned to have Kisara grouped up with the other prisoners so that she may reveal her ka, Seto had snapped, completely forbade it, and even went as far as threatening to give up his priesthood, if Kisara were harmed in any way. That it when Aknadin realized the situation was a lot more serious then he had thought. Aknadin knew that Seto and Kisara had a very intimate relationship; he could see it in his son's eyes, and with how things were headed, it won't be long before Seto decides on marrying her.

The pharaoh shook his head in disgust. He will absolutely not allow it! His son will not be bound to someone that is not of his class, especially a foreign slave girl. He must find a solution to this problem fast. Damn if it hadn't been for that insufferable magician getting in his way as usual and helping his apprentice escape, then he would have this problem solved. Now that Mana was gone, who was he supposed to marry his son to? The only satisfaction he had now was that Mahad was locked away. That brat had always been a thorn on his side, since he could remember.

Another problem was the promise he had made to the Dark Servants of reviving their master. They had waited for 8 years and were now growing impatient. But what was he supposed to do, if the Millennium Puzzle was still missing? It was as if the earth itself had swallowed it whole, deep into its depths, to never be found again. But not that was not the only issue; the mysterious 8th Key was another thing needed to revive the Dark One. With such power his disposal, he would be not only bring Egypt back to its former glory, but he would become the most powerful being in the world.

 _Damn you Aknamkanon! Why did you have create an 8th key and why did you have to have the puzzle precisely the day I got rid of you and your wretched son?! Even in death, you continue to taunt me!_

That was when Aknadin heard the guards open the door open. When he saw who had entered, the former priest's mood only became worse. At the sight of Rex and Weevil nervously coming in, he groaned in annoyance.

The two seemed to be nervous as if pushing one another on how who would be to confront the king.

"What do you two need?" He asked angrily.

Weevil pushed Rex in front of the king, pressuring him to talk. Rex gulped nervously as he summed up a bit of courage, while Weevil cowardly hid behind him.

"Pharaoh, we have a bone to pick with you!"

Immediately, Weevil panicked and covered Rex's mouth, in fear of angering Aknadin even more.

"What he's trying to say is, we really need you to help us, please!" The bug-obsessed thief then took a moment to breathe before continuing. "Look sire. The whole kingdom is destroyed. There's no food, no water, not even animals for us to hunt. We're really hungry and we were hoping..." Weevil started to stumble on his words, his confidence fading fast at the sight of Aknadin's furious gaze, a sign that he was losing his patience. "...um, you would... do something..."

Aknadin looked at the two thieves with annoyance, but also in rubbed his chin in thought. His intense stare had filled them with fear with each passing second, that they even began to shiver.

 _At this rate, I will never achieve my ultimate goal and the people will still see as me as a failure of king, not even a shadow of the pharaoh my brother was. I have to prove to them that I am a more worthy king than my brother was! I will show them that I am so powerful, they will fear me and never question my judgment again! The only option now is to cast the forbidden spell from the Millennium Spell Book. Even if it means giving in my own soul to the shadows forever, I must complete my part of the bargain. I think it is time to reveal the truth about Seto. And with that, we kill two birds with one stone! But first, I must plan carefully on what to do._

The man rose from his throne, causing the two dwarf thieves to huddle together in fear of what he will do.

"Relax you two. I have no interest in tainting my hands with your blood at the moment. Right now, I have more important things at hand. I want you to send forth the Thief King. Bring him here this instance."

Weevil looked confused. "Um, but why do you need Bakura? What about our problems-"

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY ORDERS?!" Aknadin bellowed angrily.

Each of them curled into a ball and trembled at the outburst of the clearly angry king. "N-no pharaoh, we-we just wanted you to help t-that's all."

Aknadin ignored Rex's excuse as he walked pass both cowardly thieves.

"Don't worry boys. Once I put my new plan into action, I'll make sure that we ALL get our compensation."

()()()()()()

In the middle of the desert, a lonely campfire illuminated the small area where the group sat around it, taking comfort from its warmth. Yugi, Jo, Honda, & Bobassa huddled together, shocked as they listened to Isis's story as she told the devastating truth of Atem's past. Mana sat next to her, quiet for most of the conversation and just listening in.

"So you're trying to tell me, that this Aknadin guy, whose Atem's uncle to top it off, convinced all of you that he died in the stampede along with his dad? But why would he do that?!" Jo asked, getting slightly angry.

Isis lowered her gaze. "We do not know. I can't even figure out with my Millennium Necklace what is behind all of this and the motives our prince had to leave his home like the way he did after his father's death. I just wish he could be more open with us and tell us why he abandoned Egypt."

"That's really weird. When we first found him passed out in the desert when we were kids, he never even mentioned to us that he was a prince. Atem also seemed pretty depressed about something. I assume now it was because he lost his dad."

"Nah, I don't think it was just that Honda. I'm pretty sure it was something else too. He had this look of guilt on his face. And when we first offered our friendship to him, he rambled about being scared that he might hurt other people and that he couldn't be anywhere near anyone again. I figured out that he had been referring to his powers. We told him that he could train with us and our sensei so that he can control them better. Still, even though we didn't push him in trying to tell us about his past and to leave it behind, something always seemed to keep bothering the poor guy."

"Yeah," Yugi joined in, looking down sadly. "That's true. Not too long before you and Mana showed up to the village, I remember one night, he woke up yelling. He seemed very disturbed and left out of the cabin to get some fresh air. I had woken up too and followed him quietly. I... found him sitting on rock, crying. I went to him and comforted him as much as I could. That's where he told me that he witnessed someone he loved dearly die a horrible death. I tried to ask him more about it, but he refused to tell me. I decided not to push it anymore, because when I did, it seemed to hurt him more. All I know is that at that moment, he needed a friend to be by his side." Everyone except for Bobassa who strangely had a calm expression, were shocked at the revelation.

"What?! What the hell Yuge! Why didn't you tell us this before?! We should have known about this, especially because Atem was crying! Atem usually never cries!" Jo spat furiously.

"Because he begged me not to Jo! He didn't want any of you worry about him or ask more questions. Atem wanted to forget about whatever has been haunting him. I had to respect his decision."

"Wait a sec? If you woke up to his screaming, why didn't we?"

"I'm pretty sure your own snoring is loud enough to drown out any other noise." Jo and Honda looked offended, while Bobassa looked sheepish.

"My goodness. Then that means Prince Atem saw Pharaoh Aknamkanon meet his end. I can't even imagine how horrific it must have been for him to see his own father die right before his eyes. And him being only a child at the time."

This saddened Mana. Now she understood why he exploded on her the way he did when she commented on his father. The mere mention of him must have brought the terrible memories back to mind. _Oh Atem..._

"But still, that doesn't explain why the prince left Egypt and that Aknadin would lie to us about his supposed death."

"Well, from what you and Mana have told us, Atem's uncle seemed like he never really accepted the idea of his dad being pharaoh and not him. And also the fact that Atem would be the next king. How I see it, it was kind of convenient for him to make his nephew pass for dead. That way, with the pharaoh dead and Atem out of the way, there would be no one left except him to take the throne."

"Hey that's actually quite true Yugi." Mana said, talking for the first time during the entire conversation. "Aknadin always hated the fact that he would never be pharaoh and Atem was always a constant reminder of that. Since we were little, Aknadin always have this look of hatred towards Atem. While he never openly admitted it, it was quite obvious to everyone that he secretly hated him and the pharaoh. The stampede seemed like a golden opportunity for him to get rid of the prince. Not mention he had the perfect reason for it."

Isis was troubled with what she was hearing. "Well... yes, it makes perfect sense. But while Aknadin may have had every motive to do what he did, we cannot just accuse him openly without any evidence. He could easily just say that he had mistakenly believed that Prince Atem had died or that he did it for ethical reasons. Coming up with suppositions without proof will gain us nothing."

 _Then again that's what Mahad had believed when I saw Prince Atem within my vision and in the end, both my Millennium Neklace and Queen Nefertiti were right. He was indeed alive all this time._

"If you say so. But this Aknadin guy still seems kinda fishy to me, so unless there's something that can prove he's innocent, he's pretty much guilty in my book."

Mana agreed with the blonde. "I wouldn't doubt if it was true for a second. Especially after what he had done to our precious land for the past 8 years, since he took the throne for himself."

"Well, we already have certainty that he is guilty of all the crimes he committed against Egypt. Mana and I are prime witnesses of it and I have already foreseen with my Millennium Necklace some of the events that are to come. We can start from there. And with our prince on his way to claim what is rightfully his, I believe our questions and concerns will be answered very soon, for so many things are destined to be unleashed."

They all agreed on that and Isis continued on telling them everything they needed to know and what they will be up against. As the night went on, everyone except for Isis and Yugi had fallen asleep.

"Yugi, do you know what Jo was referring to when he mentioned that when he found the prince, he had a look of guilt?"

The young swordsman shook his head. "No, unfortunately. This happened some time before I even arrived from Europe, so I'm not sure what the others saw in Atem when they found. But I have my suspicions."

"I as well suspect the same. It also might be the reason why Prince Atem chose to leave us. But despite how wrong it may have been for the choice he made, thinking of the outcome of it, it turned out for the best. As a child, had he returned to the palace, he would have been completely defenseless and at the mercy of Aknadin and The Thief King. I believe that destiny itself led the royal son to this place to keep him away from the grasp of the darkness that purged our land. Despite growing up away from his family and homeland, he was loved and protected by all of you. And that's something we will never be able to thank you all enough."

Yugi humbly accepted her appreciation. "There's no need to thank us for. We all did by heart because he's our friend, practically like a brother to us. Well, to me at least. I don't know why, but despite the fact that Jo, Honda, & Bobassa met him first and have known him longer, I feel like he and I have always been the closest to one another, as if were actually real family, like long-lost brothers or something like that. I know it sounds of kind of selfish to think that way, but I just can't help to feel that way."

"Well young Yugi, you both might as well have been in some past life. That would be the only way to explain why the two of you look like so much."

Both laughed at that. "So um Priestess Isis, what does Atem mean to you? I mean personally-wise? You seem to care about him a lot just like Mana and the rest of us do."

The priestess was taken back as she never had been asked that question before, but smiled soon after. "Well, as I told you all before the prince, Mana, our other friend Mahad, and I all grew up together within the palace. I always considered him a friend and always felt appreciation for Prince Atem, even though he was much closer to Mahad and Mana than he was to any of the other children within the palace."

"And Mahad is?" Yugi questioned.

"He is one of the current sacred guardians like myself and has been one of the prince's closest friends, since they were very young. Mahad is a very powerful magician and also the one how had currently taken Mana under his wing to make sure she finished her training. He is very close them both... and to me. I just hope that no harm has fallen before him."

Isis' expression saddened, which Yugi took notice of. "Hey, are you alright?"

"Yes I am fine Yugi. Thank you for your concern. It's just that I can't stop thinking about him. I'm worried that Aknadin might have done something terrible to him."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because Mahad had sacrificed himself in order to protect Mana and make sure that we both escaped. Bakura, The Thief King and who is allied with Aknadin had planned to do something horrible with Mana and Mahad of course wasn't willing to allow that to happen. He attacked them as a distraction in order to help us escape. But I fear that he may not have come out victorious in that battle. And despite that the Queen of Egypt assured me that no harm would come to him, I can't help but worry. Aknadin and Bakura are both unpredictable and very treacherous. My Millennium Necklace has vaguely shown me that he is still alive. But beyond that, I have no idea in what state he is in. I just hope that he isn't hurt."

Yugi sighed and expressed his compassion. "I'm sorry about your friend. But look on the bright side. If he's still alive, then there's still hope right? Priestess Isis, I promise that I will do whatever I can to help you save him. The others will help us out too. We'll make sure to stand by you, Atem, and everyone else, until the very end."

The priestess smiled. "Thank you Yugi. Your words are comforting to hear. I am truly grateful that our prince has manage to find such loyal friends such as you. With the way, you speak and how you see things, it is no wonder why he manage to become to close to all of you. You certainly remind me of him when he was a child. Only he was a bit more proud and pretentious."

The boy giggled. "I suppose it's logical. He is a prince after. And at the time, I would assumed he was raised with high standards and was conceited by his parents a lot."

"Ah yes. His parents loved him very much, though our late Pharaoh Aknamkanon, who may rest in peace was a bit more strict. But they both adored him with all their hearts. His mother still does and misses him dearly. This will certainly be a huge and very pleasant surprise for her when she find out her son has indeed been alive all this time. She will certainly be proud to see how much he has matured over the past years she believed him dead."

"Heh, I'll bet." He then looked over to the group who were sound asleep. Jo and Honda slept like they usually did, both snoring and their legs and arms crossed out. Bobassa was curled up in his Arab blanket. Meanwhile Mana laid next to Isis, snuggled in her white cloak, while hugging the rag doll Atem had given her in her sleep.

"Well, I just hope we can all make it through this and win. After all, we are going into war and the risk of suffering casualties is really high. Especially with the way you described how severe things really are. The whole world depending on us? And to Atem to face and fight his own uncle? Man."

"Do not worry Yugi. Our prince is very strong and he can certainly vanquish the obstacles that will cross his path. It is his destiny to do so. And remember he is not alone. We are here to protect and help him. And I am certain he will not let any harm come to any of his loved ones. Together we can purge the evil that has tainted our land and achieve victory."

The tri-colored haired boy nodded with her. "Now let us both sleep. We have a long journey ahead of us and we must have be at our full strength if we are to be ready." Isis then accommodated herself on her spot, with Yugi doing the same.

()()()()()()

Elsewhere, miles away from where the group was, sat the young prince in the middle of the desert. His horse, Hurria, serving as his shield and bodyguard, laid right behind him, keeping a lookout for any vandals or thieves out there that might try to ambush them. He was looking inside the golden box and tampering with the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle. Atem at first had been trying to solve it and put the pieces pack together. It had gone well at first, having figured out a few of them, but after not being able to figure out how to put the rest of the pieces, he was growing frustrated and just started hopelessly grabbing random pieces that clearly didn't to match to one another.

"Damn it! It's no use!" He snapped and threw the pieces back into the box. "Why can't I get the pieces right? Some destined pharaoh I am." He then closed the box and put the it beside him before palming his forehead. _How can I be destined to save my kingdom if I can't even solve a simple riddle? Father would be disappointed in me. He probably is at this moment._

He then threw himself onto the sand, landing on his back, exhausted from overthinking things too much. Right now he just wished he could go back to his peaceful life back at the jungle, where he didn't have to worry about any of these things. But deep down, he knew it was very selfish for him to be thinking such thoughts. Everyone was counting on him to restore their beloved land back to the way it use to be. He can't go back now. Everyone in Egypt needed him; they depended on him right now more than ever. Yet, the doubts in his mind wouldn't go away. He still blamed himself for his father's death, completely convinced that he was the one who caused it. He couldn't see how Aknamkanon expected him to redeem himself from that. If everyone else who had so much faith in him found out what he did, they would no longer believe in him.

Atem sighed as he looked up into the night sky, remembering the time he spent with his father looking at the stars and what he told him as a child. Having seen for himself that what his father had told him all those years ago turned out to be true, he continued to look into the sky intently, hoping the late pharaoh would to come to him again and answer all of his questions. But after much waiting and seeing no change in the skies above him, he gave up on the idea.

 _I wonder how mother is? Does she miss me? What am I saying. Of course she would miss, I'm her son for Ra's sake! She would most definitely be delighted to see me again, especially after believing me dead._

The thought made him think back on what Isis and Mana had told him. He still didn't understand why Aknadin had made everyone believe he was dead and made him angry to know that his own uncle had fooled the others like that. Sure, he had agreed that he would never return to Egypt, but that didn't give him the right to lie to the others like that. Of course after learning the crimes and misdeeds Aknadin has done to their kingdom, it wasn't so surprising now.

How everyone must have suffered with the idea. His mother... Atem can't even imagine the pain she must have felt at having lost both him and his father at the same time. It must have broken her tremendously. And the others... Mahad. His best friend and who like the brother he never had, but always wanted. The same magician boy who promised to loyally serve him and stand by his side when he became pharaoh; he couldn't wait to see him again. But he was slightly worried about for some reason. When Atem had questioned Mana on Mahad's well-being, she seemed to kind of always avoid the topic and would have a sad expression. As if she knew more, but didn't want to tell him.

And Mana, well he knew for a fact that she had missed him dearly as well. Their conversation when they found each other and her tears were proof enough. At the thought of the girl, he blushed slightly at remembering that wonderful night they had spent together. He still was having trouble that the very intimate moment had happened, not that he regretted it. When they were younger, he always thought that he saw Mana as a sister like how he saw Mahad as a brother, which is one the reasons why he had repulsed the idea of them being wed. Well, the idea didn't seem so repulsive now.

Thinking of that night also made him remember the argument that followed and frowned. He now felt angry at himself for lashing out at her like that. But hopefully she didn't take to heart and understood that his inner troubles were not against her. Atem also hoped that she wasn't also angry at having left her and the others behind.

 _They must have all realized that I'm long gone by now. Mana, Yugi, Jo, everyone. Forgive me my friends for leaving you all behind without telling you. But I cannot allow you to yourselves in danger. This is my fight, not yours._

Of course, the prince had no idea that the others have already been informed of his departure to Egypt and were already on their way there as well.

He felt his body grow tired and let out a yawn. Atem shifted himself into a more comfortable position. He closed his eyes, letting them rest and within a few minutes, sleep had consumed him completely.

A few hours had passed and everything seemed calm for the night. But soon that began to change as the atmosphere felt different. Hurria seemed to notice this as the stallion lifted his head in curiosity. The prince, however, was still asleep. Then the campfire began to flicker as the wind started to pick up suddenly. Atem felt it in his sleep, but brushed it off, paying no heed to it and tried to regain his sleep.

 _"Pharaoh..."_

He heard a faint voice, but assumed it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Besides, the voice said 'pharaoh', instead of 'prince' so even if it was real, it couldn't possibly be referring to him-

 _"Pharaoh Atem."_ The voice said once more and suddenly felt a warm, bright light on his face. He covered his eyes from the brightness before squinting to see what it was. At first he had thought it was his father, who had come to talk to him again. But he noticed that within the brightness, was what seemed to be a man in a white robe, wearing a golden mask. He was currently bowing before him.

 _"My king, I have come here to give you a grave message."_

"Who are you?" Atem asked, still half-sleep and overwhelmed by the light.

 _"My name is Hassan. I am the guardian and protector of the Temple of the Gods and The Millennium Stone. I was sent by the gods themselves to protect and serve you my pharaoh."_

"What? The Millennium Stone?"

 _"Yes. The very place where the Millennium Items were first created. It resided in a chamber, deep within the city of Kul Elna, however it was recently moved to an unknown location. Due to the horrific way the items were created, an evil was awakened there and summoned from the depths of Hell. His name is Zorc Necrophades."_

"Zorc? Who is Zorc?"

 _"He is a dark demon that existed long before the creation of the Millennium Items. He was born from the darkness of the hearts of living humans. At the time, he fed off the anger and hatred of those souls who lived among the earth, darkening their souls. When their time on the Earth ended, he would be the one to collect those souls and take them with him to Hell, condemning in eternal darkness. With the creation of the items, Zorc was able to infiltrate himself among the Earth temporarily. However, due to one of the items being removed from the stone at that moment, it was used to seal Zorc within the Millennium Ring. The Millennium Items were then used to fight against the enemies that had build up their forces against Egypt. But now Zorc soon will be free to walk the Earth again, for an evil group is planning on resurrecting him into this world."_

"That can't be! Is there anything I can do to stop it?"

 _"There is. But you must first complete the Millennium Puzzle. Only then will you know the answer to what you seek. Remember young one, justice lies within the legendary gods of Egypt. They will lend you the power you need in order to stop Zorc. Farewell for now my king. May the gods and kings of our past be with you on your quest."_

And with that, the light brightened for a moment, temporarily blinding Atem, before it disappeared. The prince, now wide awake, burst up into a sitting position. He looked around and saw that the strange golden-masked man named Hassan had apparently disappeared with the light. _Why does everyone have the habit of disappearing on me like that?_

He sighed and thought on what he was told. Now he had even more questions than before. Questions that needed to be answered.

Atem looked at the golden box intensely for a moment before snatching it off the ground and opening it. With his new found determination, he started on the puzzle again. This time, solving the puzzle seemed much easier for him, with each piece fitting perfectly with one another. It was as if he was in a trance, completely concentrated on the task at hand. He continuously put the puzzle together, getting closer to having it finished. He inserted the last piece, which was the one that had the Eye of Wadjet on it.

The prince looked at the now completed puzzle, that was shining brightly under the fire's illumination. He felt an empowering force from the puzzle run through his hands. It was as if the puzzle itself was calling out to him. Atem grabbed the rope he tied to the puzzle and put it over head. He let the the rope hang around his neck as the item rested on his stomach. Immediately, he felt the power course through him, fusing with his magic and the very core of his soul. He closed his eyes and could hear the voices of the three legendary gods; Obelisk the Tormentor & God of War, Osiris the Sky Dragon & God of the Underworld, and finally Ra the Winged God Dragon of the Sun. (1-2) Knowing that the gods were here to serve him and help him fight against the evil.

He opened his eyes and look down to the puzzle, feeling much different than he felt before. Looking out onto the open, Atem knew what had to be done. He was now ready to face Aknadin, Bakura, the evil dwellers that have infested his land, and even the rising of Zorc. And he would make sure victory would be his. He was ready to become Pharaoh.

* * *

 **Yes! Finally finished with this chapter! I felt I was lagging on the chapter, but there was just so many things I needed reveal in this chapter before Atem reached Egypt. I also wanted to give some development to Yugi and Atem's relationship, because while it may not be the main point of this story, I can't just leave it in the background as if it never happened. In the anime & manga, they have such a close bond, closer than any of their other friends, they're basically brothers. I know it's kinda thrown in there, but don't forget that this is based off the Lion King, so Yugi had to show up later. I actually had him appear a lot sooner than I had originally intended, but in the end, this worked out for the best. **

**Another relationship that needed developing and attention was totally Seto and Kisara a.k.a Mizushipping! It was quite obvious they loved each other in the original Yu-Gi-Oh. I just wish Takahashi had given their relationship more development and the fact that Kisara had to die before they even had a chance to be a couple was sad. So I'm doing that here.**

 **(1) As for Obelisk being the god of war, because as far as I read the original manga and watched the anime, it was never mentioned what kind of god Obelisk was besides being the tormentor. So I thought making him to god of war would fit him perfectly. According to my research, the original Ancient Egyptian god of war is called _Montu._ But for my fanfic, he is being replaced by Obelisk.**

 **(2) Another thing, I re-edited Chapter 5 a bit, because of this chapter referenced the manga and Season 5 that only the chosen pharaoh would know the names of the three legendary god monsters. In the other chapter, I had wrote the names of the god monsters as if Aknadin already knew, which he's not suppose to, so I kinda fixed that up a bit. Might what wanna take a re-read on that!**

 **Anyways, thank you for being so supportive; for all the favs, follows, and wonderful reviews. I'm glad you guys liked my story. I promise I'll try to update more often.**


	12. Chapter 12: The Beginning of the End

**Hello everyone! I know it has been a long time and its taking me a while to keep update with this story. But I've just been so busy with so many things late. For example, I had to cancel my abroad trip to Paris because the school I was going to go with canceled, due to not have enough people sign up. It was let-down for me, but oh well, there's always next year and I'm still young. Still, I haven't given up on this story and I won't give up on it, until it is fully finished. I'm not the kind of person that leaves things half-way done. On the upside, I only have one more year to graduate and from the university and soon I'll be a graduate with a finished career! So excited! In the meantime, hopefully since I'll have more freedom this summer, I'll be able to get more of this story done. I already have planned out what I'm going to write for the next chapter and my main goal for this story is to finish it before the end of this year. I can't fully guarantee that it's going to be that way; anything can happen, but I'm counting on that now I'm going to be on summer break, I can dedicate my time and effort on this. It's on my list of things-to-do, along with helping my very soon-to-be high school graduate younger brother help get his first job! lol Anyhow, thank you so much for those who have followed, favored and/or reviewed this story. Thank you for your sincerity and I'm glad you guys liked this story so** **much. It means a lot to me.**

 **One more thing, from here on out, I'll being doing this new thing on where I'm gonna try and answer/respond to some reviews through my A/N at the end if each chapter, mainly the ones that may have some concerns with the story. Can't promise I'll do all of them, but to those whom I don't respond back, don't take it the wrong way! All of your opinions mean so much to me and I always take my time to read them.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Yu-Gi-OH or The Lion King. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi and Walt Disney Pictures.**

* * *

Chapter 12: The Beginning of the End

For days and nights, Prince Atem rode through rough winds and heated desert, fully determined on reaching homeland. It had not occurred to him what was it exactly what he were to do first when he got there. He never officially planned out his strategy to claim back what is his, but he was sure of one thing: to set things straight and remove both Aknadin & Bakura from power. He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he was willing to do it no matter what it took and was certain that with Millennium Puzzle, he would be able to achieve that goal.

As he rode on, he also kept thinking of what Mana had told him of the conditions Egypt was in, since Aknadin took charge. She had mentioned that everything had been destroyed, though he probably thought she might have been exaggerating to some degree. He expected the streets to be filthy, but still recognizable and full of people, the same sunny days as he remembered, less water, buildings and statues a little worn out, but still visible. The land would obviously be quite dry from how Mana had described it, but still would have some vegetation and there would be animals roaming around. However, he was not prepared to see for what was actually waiting for him back in Cairo.

Once he had reached the city, Atem rode on his horse slowly, looking around in complete shock and horror at what he was seeing. Everything and absolutely everything was destroyed. The lands were dry and gray. A lot of landmark buildings and statues that had been around for centuries were crumbled to the ground. The streets were filthy of ashes and the pathways were very foggy. Hardly anyone was in sight, minus a few unfortunate individuals that laid in the streets, scraping for food. The open fields were dead dry of any vegetation, full of animals bones and skeletons, and not a living animal in sight. Even the sky itself was dead. Gray and dark clouds covered every single part of the once blue sky, with the lights of Ra nowhere in sight. However what had shocked him the most was when he saw the Nile River almost completely dried out, leaving a giant hollow crack deep within the Earth. What was more gut-wrenching to see was that the few streams left of the river were not even water. They were blood. Wasted, intoxicated blood that the very smell made him feel sick. It brought back memories of the day of the stampede, when the small clan of natives had been slaughtered right before his eyes.

The prince continued to look on his home having turned into a wasteland. It made Kul Elna look like a paradise in comparison. Everything was a lot worse than he had ever imagined or that Mana had mentioned. Atem looked away in shame, disgraced at seeing that there was nothing left of his father's once live and powerful kingdom, only a mere shadow was left. Atem then stared up ahead at the palace. Despite it being worn out, it was the only recognizable structure that was maintained somewhat decent. Thinking of Aknadin sitting on his father's throne and permitting injustice, while letting Egypt waste away filled him up with anger.

It made him even more concerned about his friends and his mother. Were they alright or had they also been turned into slaves just like the people of Egypt had been? He hadn't seen any slaved people in sight yet, but he assumed it was because Aknadin kept most of them in the palace since there was obviously nothing out here to build or harvest. Regardless, he was going to save everyone even if he had to give up his own life in the process. And he swore on his father's memory and his mother's life that he would make Aknadin, Bakura, and whoever else was involved with them pay for everything they have done.

()()()()()()

Isis and Mana lead the group of males into the foggy streets of Cairo, knowing which pathway lead to the palace. Their eyes scanned every corner, keeping their guard at all times. However, they clearly were not surprised as the boys behind them were. Jo and Honda specifically were more frightened at their surroundings. They kept exclaiming looked as if it had come out of a horror story.

"Well, this place looks pretty barren and creepy. Are you guys sure this is the kingdom that Atem is trying to save and is supposed to take over? Feels more like a graveyard to me." Jo said, shivering.

"Egypt wasn't always like this, you know." Mana claimed, feeling slightly offended at how Jo described their home. "At one point, when Atem's father ruled Egypt, it was one of the most powerful kingdoms ever known on this land. Everything was so bright, full of life, and everyone was happy. This what you see here is the result of what happens when the responsibility of a great empire like ours falls in the wrong hands. Or in this case, two heartless demented, madmen."

"Mana is right. But we are certain that once our prince achieves in defeating Aknadin and everyone who is allied with him, he will be able to put everything back in its place."

Yugi nodded and was about to say something, when he was shushed. He and everyone else turned to Bobassa, who had blank expression and had stopped his large draft horse.

"What is it Boba-"

"Sshh! We must be quiet. I just heard noises nearby."

Everyone stopped their horses and stayed there in the dead silence, looking everywhere for signs of any movement. Mana, who was riding on same horse with Isis, instinctively held onto her wand, ready to use it. But Isis held her hand back and whispered into her ear.

"Mana remember, we must not use any kind of magic, until we reunite with the prince and reach the palace. Otherwise those in the palace will be able to sense us and know we are here. We cannot let them be alerted beforehand." The mage sighed and reluctantly agreed.

"Alright."

After a few more moments of silence, Jo finally grew tired of this sudden pause. "Alright guys, I'm pretty sure there's nothing here right now, so why don't we-"

A scream was heard, which cut through Jo's sentence. The group froze and continued to listen for anymore voices. Grunts of men were heard, while laughing as well as the sound of something or someone being dragged on the ground. Soon came the shrieks and yelling of a pair of female voices, begging to be let go.

"Sounds like somebody's in trouble!" Jo exclaimed. He did not wait for the others to reply as rode off once more.

"Jo wait up!" Honda tried to stop him, but Jo was already far ahead to hear.

"We better follow him to make sure he doesn't get into trouble." Yugi said.

"We'll come with you." Mana said.

"Nah. You ladies go ahead and look for Atem. If he's not already at the palace, then you've still got a chance to reach him."

"Are you sure? You don't know this city and have no idea what's out there-"

"Don't worry about us Mana." Honda insisted. "We'll be fine. We can take care of ourselves. You guys go on ahead, we'll catch up."

"Bobassa will accompany you if you wish." The large man said with determination. "We can look for his majesty, while our friends find our other friend."

"Okay, but you guys be careful."

"Shall we go now, my ladies?"

"Yes, of course. Let's move on ahead Isis."

"Right!"

They road off ahead as Yugi and Honda headed off to where Jo had.

()()()()()()

Elsewhere, a group of men had surrounded two young women, both dressed in tattered in clothes. The younger female had been thrown to the ground and was now huddled in fear, completely defenseless. The older female, on the other hand, while having been thrown to ground as well, was actually more on the defensive side, protecting her younger partner.

"I already told you, we don't have anymore golden coins."

The bandit leader laughed as if she had just said a joke. "Ha! That's not our problem! You know perfectly well how the law goes. Or do you dare defy the orders of our great pharaoh?"

The young woman gritted her teeth. "But how the hell are we supposed to get any? We can't even maintain ourselves with how things are being run in this kingdom!"

They all laughed mockingly before she noticed that the leader had put some thought into. Then something clicked into his eyes as if an idea had just occurred to him. He then smirked evilly at them.

"Well, there is one way you can pay us back." Both girls looked confused at the thief. "Oh yeah, there's definitely a way."

The older woman noticed their sadistic smirks and leering looks at them.

"What do you want?" She dared to ask, hoping the answer was not what she was already suspecting.

"Simple. We don't report you to the Thief King or The Pharaoh and in exchange, we get to have a little fun with you."

The younger female gasped in horror and huddled behind her friend, who filling up with rage.

"In fact, that's exactly what we're going to do! And we'll start with the innocent one!"

"You bastards! Don't you dare touch her!" The older woman got up and tried to attack the leader, but he simply before throwing her to one of his underlings, who held her firm. She tried to struggle out of the bandit's hold, but was unsuccessful.

"Hey, looks we got ourselves a fighter here, don't we boys!" They all laughed as they surrounded the defenseless girl on the ground. "Just the way we like 'em."

He then grabbed the restrained woman's chin. "But relax, you'll get your turn as soon as we're done with your friend. No need to be so has-"

The thief suddenly felt a sharp pain right behind his neck, as if something had been thrown at him. He groaned in pain and looked down to see a rock.

"Hey! Who did that?!" He turned behind him to see who the culprit, who happened to be none other than Jonouchi. He maintained his calm, collective, yet threatening pose, while his gaze was just as deadly. He had a few more pebbles in his hand, ready to strike again.

"Come on guys. A band of thugs grouping up on some poor girls, who can't even defend themselves? That's pretty pathetic."

"What did you say blondey?!" The leader yelled, feeling threatened. Meanwhile the older woman, who was first surprised at her rescuer, grew a tick-mark on a forehead at the mention of not being able to defend herself.

"You heard me. OR are you too stupid to understand what I'm saying. Tch. You guys act all high and mighty, mistreating women. Why don't you try that on me and see what happens?" He then smirked in cockiness. "But then again, knowing how you thieves work, I'd say you're all too much of bunch of cowards to actually get into a real fight."

"Why you little- Get him men!" At their leader's command, they all charged at the young swordsmen. Jo let the pebbles in his hand drop, before preparing himself, though his calm façade didn't falter. As soon as one the thieves was at close enough distance, he threw a punch at the young swordsman. Jo immediately ducked his attack, before elbowing him in the gut. The thief groaned in pain and froze for a few seconds, before falling onto the ground unconscious. He then continued to fight on the others, each trying to use their numbers to corner the rebellious blonde into a corner. But fortunately he was too fast for them and kept dodging their attacks, before fighting back with his hand-to-hand combat skills. The shock and fear of the leader became more evident as, one by one of his allies fell to ground bruised, bleeding, and completely knocked out.

"N-no! It can't be!" He shook in fear as the last of his underlings had fallen. Jo rubbed off his hands as if he had just finished some dirty work.

"Well, that was easy." He then looked at the leader. "So do you want be next?"

The thief back up, scared before he ran off. Jo simply put his arms on his hips and let out a 'hymph'. "Typical. Why do all these thieves have to be a bunch of cowards." He then walked towards the pair of slave women on the ground. He then extended his hand to the older one.

"Here let me help you."

"Thanks." She accepted his hand and he helped her up to his feet. When she faced him, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful this woman was. Her long wild, blonde her, her flawless figure, and although he was no pervert in that sense, it was hard not to notice how busty she was. He tried shaking those thoughts out of his head, though the blush on his face was obvious. But he was certain was that this girl would definitely grateful for him saving her.

"But I can take care of myself and I didn't need any help." She stated flatly. Did he say 'grateful'? It was like the same scene from where he met Mana was repeating itself. _Do all women act like this when someone comes to their rescue and not even say a 'thank you for saving me'? Seriously, how can anyone understand them?_

"So what are your names, anyway?"

"It's Mai," answered the blonde woman. "And like I told you before hun, I didn't any help." Jo raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Oh yeah, well that's not what I saw from where I was standing. And from what I can tell, if I hadn't come when I did. both of ya would have been in real danger. I think you should be a bit more grateful dont'cha think?"

Embarrassed, the woman named Mai blushed and was about to protest when they heard hooves trampling on the ground, the sound getting closer.

"Hey Jo!" He heard someone call him from behind and realized it was Honda coming towards him, with the others close behind. Once they reached him, Honda immediately got off his horse and much to everyone's surprise, knocked Jo on the head.

"OW! Honda ya jerk! My head is still recovering if you hadn't noticed." The blonde screamed at his friend.

"Yeah, well maybe if you hadn't ran off like that like you usually do, we wouldn't have to waste our breathes in chasing and making sure you don't hurt yourself!"

"Hey I did not ask you to come after me! And besides, I was only trying to help someone in need here!"

Yugi then looked around and noticed the unconscious bodies of the thieves. "So um, what exactly happened here?"

"I just told you. These bandits here were harassing these ladies and I came just on time to rescue them. HEHE! Super Jo, to the rescue!" He claimed with a goofy grin.

"Super dork is more like it." Mai retorted. "Listen I appreciate beating up the goons, but don't think that just because of that, we're going to return any personal favors. I know how you men work when trying to act heroic. Always wanting something in return."

"Hey, it's not like that-!"

"Mai." Her younger friend spoke out for the first time. She had a much more petite form and had long, brown hair. "Let's not be rude to them. I mean they did save our lives. The least we should do is thank them for their help."

The girl seemed so small and fragile, even her voice sounded light. It made Honda in particular sympathize with her, especially with how sweet she was. But for some reason, it felt there was something familiar about her.

"Hmph." Mai stubbornly crossed her arms.

"Well thanks. At least _someone_ has manners. Anyway, my name's is Jounouchi, but you can call me Jo for short.

Mai didn't seemed fazed much to his introduction, but he younger slave's was a different story.

"Wh-what? Did you say your name was Jounouchi?"

The girl was staring to shake, which was starting to concern everyone. "Um, yeah that's right. Hey, you okay?"

She gasped and immediately put her hands to her mouth, tears forming in her eyes. Everyone was now worried, not understanding why the girl was getting so emotional. Mai went to comfort her.

"What's wrong? Are you alright Shizuka?" As soon as she said her name, both boys stood there, stunned and shocked. Jo especially was frozen beyond belief, not knowing if this was real or not.

"It can't be. Shizuka? Is it really you? As in, my baby sister?"

The said girl was now crying uncontrollably, but nodded slowly. Mai, who stood behind her, stunned as well. She then continued to watch in silence.

"Y-yes, Jo it's me. But I can't believe you're here a-and-" She continued to sob uncontrollably. "Oh big brother, I thought I would never see you again!" Shizuka went and ran to Jo, throwing her arms around him in a big hug.

"You have no idea how much I've missed you! How much I needed you!"

Jo hugged her back with just as much force and tears started forming in his eyes as well.

"Oh Shizuka. My little sister. I can't believe you're really here." They both knelt down and hugged one another. Soon all the memories of the past came back to them, remembering all the times the siblings spent together as children, along with their mother. But that also brought questions to Jo, as he could not finishing comprehending the situation before him.

"So, you two are family?" Mai asked, interrupting the family moment.

"Yeah Mai, he's my big brother. The one I told you about that stayed behind in the village." Shizuka then looked to the person standing behind Jo. After a few seconds, she smiled in delight.

"And I assume you're Honda right?" This brightened the boy's face.

"Hey, I can't believe you recognized me!"

Shizuka laughed despite her tears. "Of course. You haven't changed at all. You're just as I remember you." They both exchanged smiled, before she turned back to her older brother.

"Shizuka, I really am happy to see you. But I don't understand. How did you get to this place? I thought you and mom left to Japan years ago! I saw you guys leave! It doesn't make sense how you ended up her, in this situation. Sis, please tell me!"

At that, she lowered her head in sadness, now refusing to look at him in the eye.

"Shizuka, please talk to me." His sister started shaking once more as tears ran down her cheeks again.

"Oh Big Brother. You have no idea how much I really needed you. I had to go through so many horrible things. Since we left..."

"I still don't get it. Where's mom?" The question only made Shizuka sob and break into even more tears.

"Jo, mother, she's... gone." His eyes widened in shock, completely mortified at what he just heard.

"Gone? You don't mean she-"

The girl nodded.

"But how?! What happened?!"

"I-it all started a few days after we left the village." The poor girl said through her sobs. "One night, while we settled down to rest at a nearby village, we were ambushed by thieves. They destroyed everything and killed almost everyone. The rest of us who survived were captured and sold into slavery. We then were brought to Egypt a few months afterwards. But by then, a lot of the others had gotten very sick by a disease, due to the horrible conditions they kept us in. Mother had gotten the disease and wasn't strong enough to fight against it. They separated us from those who had gotten the disease, just so we wouldn't catch it as well. She and the other sick ones were left to die in the desert. I wanted to stay with her, b-but she wouldn't let me. I was taken away and I never saw her again and-"

She sobbed into Jo's chest, not noticing the tears that were running down brother's cheeks as she continued. "I was brought here and immediately put to work. We hardly earned anything most of the time. And when we did, those thieves would take it from us, by orders of the Thief King."

"Whose the Thief King?" Honda asked.

"He's the head of everything the goes on in this kingdom. Isis told me about it." Yugi answered.

Mai came then came into the conversation, her arrogant and proud posture no longer present. "He's right. The thief king, also known as Bakura, works beside the pharaoh and only the king himself is above him. Everyone else has to obey his commands, even the high priests of the sacred court."

"He's such a horrible person big brother. The things he has done to these people and to us. And the thieves under him are no better. They take advantage of us and force us to do things we don't want to do. We suffer at their hands and can't do anything to defend ourselves."

Her crying continued as her brother comforted even more, crying with her, suffering at receiving the news of the lost of their mother. Honda was both sorrowful and angry at everything. He had always cared for Shizuka since they were children and had always hoped to get to see her again. But never under these circumstances.

Yugi was sad for them. Now he was even more convinced that both the Thief King and Atem's uncle had to pay for they had done. They would certainly not go unpunished.

"Don't worry sis, no one's ever gonna hurt ever again. I promise that from now on, I'll be here to protect you. They won't get away with this." While Jo was still suffering his mother's death and his sister's sorrow, the feelings were soon developing into anger and rage. He was now thirsting for justice and revenge. And he would make sure that he would get it; to avenge his family.

"Mai, help me with Shizuka for a moment please." He said straightforward, with such seriousness. The woman nodded and immediately went to the girl's aid, who was still shaking and half-conscious, due to how tired she was from crying so much. He then got up and faced his companions. Both Yugi and Honda noticed something different in Jo's expression, as if he had fire in his eyes.

"This just became personal. Now we definitely have to help Atem destroy those bastards!" His fists clenched in anger.

Yugi seemed worried. While he understand Jo and completely agreed with what he said, he knew that Jo was letting his rage take over him.

"But Jo-"

"BUT NOTHING YUGE!" He snapped. "After everything we heard about them from Mana and Isis, they don't deserve any type of mercy! But with this, they just dug their own graves. No one messes with my family and gets away with it! Now Atem's not the only one who has a vendetta against his uncle and that so-called thief king! And we promised we'd help our pal get his kingdom! Now more than ever we have to stick together and save this kingdom"

They both looked at each other still worried about their friend's state of mind. But both knew that in the end he was. The pharaoh and the Thief King have gone too far this time.

()()()()()()

"We're almost to the palace. My Millennium Necklace senses the evil power that lies there. Yet there is something that doesn't feel right."

"What do you mean Isis?" A concerned Mana asked.

"I'm not sure. It feels as if an impactful event is yet to come. I don't know for sure if it is something good or bad. But what I am sure of is that it is bound to change everything as we know it."

Mana sighed. "I wish you could a little more clear with what you're trying to say. I don't like having anxiety over something I don't even know what it is."

"Fear not Lady Mana! Bobassa is certain that 'little' Atem will bring Egypt back to its beautiful self."

The women smiled at his childish, yet positive attitude. It was a motivator for them. It was clear to them why Atem liked and cared about him so much.

They continued to look onto the palace in the distance, that was becoming clearer through the fog. Out of the corner of her eye, Mana noticed a figure up ahead. It seemed to be a man standing next to his horse. Getting closer, she noticed the unusual hair and recognized him.

"Oh Ra! Isis! Bobassa! Look over there! It's Atem!"

Without giving either of them a chance to respond or even react, she got off of Isis' horse and ran off to the direction of the prince. Soon after she had went ahead, they heard hooves running against the ground from behind, coming closer to them.

Meanwhile, Atem continued to stare at the palace, gripping the reigns of his horse. He was about to get up on Hurria again, when someone called out to him.

"Atem, wait!" He looked back and was surprised.

"Mana? How did you-"

Atem didn't have time to finish his question as the magician apprentice swung her hand and slapped him on the cheek.

Feeling the pain on his cheek, he looked back at Mana both surprised and annoyed.

"Mana what the hell! Why did you slap me for?!"

"That's for leaving without telling us! Why did you do it, huh?! Did you really think you were going to face Bakura and Aknadin alone?!"

She then crossed her arms, demanding for an explanation. He knew he should have told her and his friends of his plans, but he was certain that the decision he had made was the best one.

"I'm sorry. I just... didn't want put any of you in danger."

Her expression softened. "Oh Atem. And you say I'm impulsive. Well, I'm in this too so whether you like or not, I'll be fighting with you." He didn't say anything, but continued to look at his fallen kingdom.

"It's awful, isn't it?" He sighed at that.

"I didn't want to believe you. But even after, I never imagined it would be this bad."

"What made you come back?" Mana asked, now curious of at sudden mind-change.

The prince chuckled. "Well, let's just say I had some sense knocked into me. And the bump on my head is proof of that. Also, thanks for adding to my pain. That struck on my face really helped bring back to my senses fully."

Mana smiled and blushed at his joke.

"Besides this is my kingdom. If I don't fight for it, who will?"

"I will of course. I already told you I'm in this as much as you are."

"It'll be dangerous." He warned, but she scoffed, remembering something Atem had said years back.

"Danger! Ha! I laugh in the face of danger. Hahaha!"

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at her mocking. "Oh yes Mana, that's real funny." He said sarcastically.

"Hey, did I miss a joke or something? What's with all the laughing?" They turned at the sound of Jo's voice and Mana was quite surprised to see the entire group reunited. But Atem was even more surprised to see his friends present.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?"

"At your service my king." Bobassa made a small bow, with his hand gestured on his chest.

"You really didn't think we were gonna let you fight this war alone?" Yugi said smiling. "We have always been together through thick and thin. And this won't be an exception."

"Oh yeah! I'll have you know that now you're not the only who has a score to settle with those goons. We'll be here to help you! If this kingdom means so much to you, we're with you 'till the end."

Atem didn't know what to say. He was already surprised enough to see them here, but to hear them proclaim that they would be fighting alongside of him? Suddenly he felt Mana grab his hand saw her nod in encouragement and determination. And then looked back at the others before smiling.

Soon after, they got on their horses and rode off. Throughout the ride, Jo had told them of his meeting with Mai and reunion with his sister. After hearing the circumstances of how he found Shizuka and of his mother's passing, Atem couldn't help but feel guilty and ashamed, since it it was after all his uncle the main cause of all this. Atem had promised his friend that after all this was over, he would find a way to compensate for everything his family had suffered.

Isis helped them sneak into the boundaries outside the palace, past any guards or bandits that roamed around there. Finally, they had made it near outside the front, where both Rex and Weevil, instead of guarding like everyone assumed they should be have been doing, were fighting over a piece of bread.

 _Rex and Weevil are still here? I thought Bakura would have gotten rid of them years ago. And who in their right mind would give them of all people the task to guard the palace gate?_

The group hid behind some outer walls as they discussed on what to do next.

"Great. More scumbag thieves." Jo said lowly, clearly annoyed.

"Clearly, those two haven't changed at all. And it looks like their lack of mental development has also caused their lack of growth as well. Though I'm quite surprised that Bakura hasn't disposed of them after all these years."

Mana shrugged, indicating that she agreed.

"So Atem, have any ideas on how we're gonna get past these thieves without them seeing us?"

"Well, knowing how dimwitted these two are, it might be easier than expected. All we need is some kind of distraction." He whispered back.

"Well, I can use my magic." Mana offered, but Isis went against it.

"No Mana. Aknadin and the others would sense you right away and we cannot let them know of our presence before we are even inside the palace."

"Then why don't we just take them out instead? I'm pretty good in a fist fight." Jo insisted

Atem shook his head. "As tempting as that is, we can't have them alerting anyone else nearby and have warn those who are inside. Besides I was thinking more like live bait as a distraction."

They all seemed intrigued, yet confused. "Really Atem? And what exactly are we gonna use as live bait?"

The prince look back from Jo to Bobassa, who at the moment was sneaking some food into his mouth, as if to replenish his strength. They noticed that he was eyeing the food in particular and immediately understood.

"Ohhhh. I get it now." Jo said.

Atem then turned to Bobassa and put a hand on his shoulder supportively.

"Are you up for this my friend?"

"Of course! Anything for you, my king." The oversized man smiled eagerly.

Atem chuckled and shook his head at his naivety, deciding later on to correct Bobassa in not using any honorable titles with him as they discussed the plan.

()()()()()()

"I said give it to me dino-brain!"

"No way! I got it first!"

"But I saw it first!"

"But I call dibs on it!"

The two dwarf thieves continued to fight over the bread. Weevil was trying get the bread, while Rex held high and managed to keep it out of his reach for a while. But then Weevil suddenly managed to jump high enough and knock it out of Rex's hand. The bread flew to the other side and landed right on the floor nearby some dry bushes. They saw the bread land, but before they could even think to run and grab it, a large, black stray dog jumped out of the bushes and immediately got the bread with its mouth.

"HEY! THAT'S OUR FOOD!" They attempted to run after it, but then the canine turned and growled fiercely at them, with its fangs visible as if threatening to tear them to pieces if they even tried to take the bread. They gulped and back up in fear as the dog headed back into the bushes.

Weevil then turned to Rex angrily, grabbing him by the collar.

"This is all your fault!"

"Me?! You're the one who threw it out of my hand!"

"Yeah! Because it was mine, you dino fetish!"

"Like you're the one to talk you bug freak!"

"Excuse me gentlemen. Could I have a moment of your time?" They turned to the new voice and saw Bobassa whom they thought was either a foreign traveler or merchant. He held a large basket with a blanket covering it.

"What'da ya want?" Rex yelled. "Can't ya see we're busy right now?"

"Oh Bobassa was only hoping if I can talk to your master. You see, Bobassa is a traveler and was hoping to find refuge in your humble home. Just for one night. I would like to speak with your king. If he allows my stay, Bobassa will assure that there will be a reward.

"Sorry, but no! The pharaoh's really not in the mood of seeing anyone right now and besides he doesn't like taking in strangers into the palace. Now go away!"

At the bug-obsessed thief's rudeness, Bobassa feigned sadness and started to leave.

"Oh I see. Forgive me if I bothered you or your master. Bobassa will take his leave. It really is a shame. I was looking forward to sharing this delicious food with my new friends." He removed the blanket and in the basket revealed to be filled with all different kinds of fruit. Both dwarf thieves gasped in awe.

"But I guess it can't be helped. Farewell."

"WAIT! Don't leave!" In less than a second, they had already dashed in front of Bobassa.

"We really didn't mean anything we said. You can stay as long as you want!" Rex exclaimed, eyeing the food in hunger.

"But you said the phara-"

"Forget what we just said! We were only kidding! We'll let you in! Only of course, if you give us that food first. Come on, gimme, gimme, gimme!"

Weevil jumped many times trying to reach the food, with Rex soon following. Bobassa smiled.

"Of course Bobassa will give you food. Just one more little thing."

"What?! But you said that if we let you stay here, you would give some food!"

"Do not worry my friends. Bobassa only wishes to know where your king resides at the moment. So I may thank him for his hospitality."

"He's currently in the throne room right now! Said something about today being the day that everything would change or something like that. Now come on, give us some of that food already, we're starving over here!"

Bobassa leaned the basket down and the two dwarf thieves grabbed as much food at once and began to devour it like pigs. At the same time, the group had snuck into the gate opening, which Rex and Weevil had forgotten to close.

()()()()()()

After passing and avoiding the very little guards that roaming through hallways, the group had finally made to heart of the palace. It resided right underneath the throne room.

"Okay, so we're inside the palace, now what?" Jo asked.

"Alright, now that we have the certainty that Aknadin is in the throne room, I'll find a way to sneak inside. Mana has anyone found the hidden passageway to the upper pillars?"

The young mage shook her head and he smiled.

"Good. Now Mana and Isis, you go find my mother and Mahad as well. Tell him to round up the other guardians."

"Oh, um, Atem about that..." Mana said sadly and nervously, while the prince's eyes narrowed in question.

"...What is it, Mana? Is something wrong?"

"My prince, forgive us for not telling you, but we didn't want you to worry. Unfortunately, we fear that Mahad may be in grave danger. You see the reason why Mana and I were able to leave the palace was because, Mahad helped us escaped. He defied Aknadin and Bakura and attacked them, and with the help of the queen, it gave us time to leave the palace. But I know for a fact that he did not come out victorious in that battle and fear for his current state."

"What?! But how did this happen?! Mahad must have known how ruthless Aknadin is and what the implications of his actions what would bring! Why in the world would he such a thing?! And why did he need to help you escape?! What is the reason behind that?!"

"Well you see-"

"It's nothing important anymore." Mana cut in. "What really matters now is that we need to rescue Master Mahad."

Atem and his friends (with the exception of Yugi, who was already somewhat aware of the situation and therefore understood why Mana had silenced Isis) sensed a sensitive topic being touched and suspected there being more to the story, but that Mana refused to tell. The prince decided to leave it there for now. Right now, Mahad's life is what really mattered. Then another thought came to him. He growled in frustration.

"And you're both barely telling me this NOW?! Why didn't either of you say anything to me before, especially if Mahad's life was in danger?!"

"We didn't want to worry you Atem. You had so many doubts going through your mind. And by the time I had thought to tell you, you had already left without telling us."

He sighed roughly, trying to calm down. But he couldn't stop worrying about Mahad. Had he known before that Aknadin most likely had imprisoned and hurt Mahad, he would have came back sooner.

"Alright. Isis, how grave do you think Mahad's situation might be?"

"Well, considering he did attack the pharaoh, his situation is very severe. He still alive, my Millennium Necklace senses his _heka._ But beyond that, I don't know and knowing Aknadin, it won't be long before he sentences him to death."

"Don't worry Isis. I will not allow it. I'm going with you to rescue him."

"But my prince, what of Aknadin and Bakura?"

"Yeah man. If you go, there's a chance that your uncle might find out you're here and will have time to think of some way to get rid of you before you can go anywhere near him."

"Do not worry Prince Atem. I will go and rescue Mahad. You must go after Aknadin and officially reclaim your throne and place as king of Egypt. It is your destiny to do so."

Knowing she was not going to be convinced otherwise, Atem agreed.

"Then I'll go with you Isis!"

"Mana, why don't you let me accompany Isis instead. I think Atem needs you more, since you seem to more about this situation than the rest of us." Yugi surprised everyone with this statement. "Besides, I made a promise to both Isis and Atem and I'm planning on keeping it."

Isis remembered their conversation prior to their arrival and smiled. "Thank you, Yugi."

Despite not fully understanding what was going on here, Atem thanked Yugi as well.

Mana was quite reluctant on the idea of not helping rescue her master, still believing it was her fault he was put in this situation, but in the end gave in. "Alright then, but be careful and please bring back Master Mahad safe."

The two nodded affirmatively, before departing from the group.

"Alright, now back to the original plan. Mana, Jo, and Honda, I want you to find my mother and bring together the remaining guardians. Mana will show you were to find them."

"But, wait? What about you? Don't tell me you're not planning on going in there by yourself?"

"I have to for now Jo. Once he knows that I am still alive, his attention will be solely focused on me, especially when he sees that I have the Millennium Puzzle that he won't even suspect that I've brought allies that are gathering forces. His main priority will be to kill me and obtain this item."

Honda groaned at his reckless courage. "And despite knowing all that, you still want to go in there alone?! No way in hell! At least, let one of us go with you!"

"But I need to-"

"What you need to do it get it through your thick skull that we are not leaving you alone in this, not even by a second! In fact, I'm gonna be the one to come with you! If you want, your uncle doesn't even have to know I'm there yet, when you reveal yourself to him. But if things go for the worse, you'll need someone to back you up. And I already told you, I also have a score to settle with him and that scumbag, Bakura."

"Please let him go with you. I'm already worried about not knowing anything of Mahad. I don't want to leave, worrying about you too."

"Alright, alright. If it will keep you all at ease, then fine Jo you can come with me. But remember, we must all stick with the plan and what we agreed on what each of us would do. Understood?"

"Right!"

Having all agreed, Jo was the first to seemingly go ahead after asking Atem which way was the hidden stairway.

"Okay Mana, let's go. Atem, good luck." Honda said, walking to the opposite direction. Mana was about to follow him, when Atem quickly grabbed her hand, causing her to turn to him confused. He then cupped her cheeks and caught her lips into a quick, but deep kiss. He caught her off guard at first, but then quickly corresponded to the kiss, officially reconciling with him after the quarrel they had a few days prior.

After a moment, he broke the kiss, but his hands were still on her cheeks, caressing them.

"Please be careful, my love."

"Um, you too Temmy."

"Now go." He released her from his grip. "Go."

Mana did as she was told and ran to catch up with Honda. Atem did the same as he caught up with Jo and both ran their way through the empty hallways. To Atem's surprise, Jo gave him broad smirk.

"Ya know Atem. If you want, I can take care of your uncle and the Thief King for ya. You can go back to kissing Mana and get a room too." The prince blushed in embarrassment, surprised that he actually saw the romantic scene.

"Oh shut your trap, Jounouchi!"

()()()()()()

Yugi followed Isis as she lead the way into the dungeons. She could barely feel Mahad's life-force _._ It seemed to be weakening every second, as if it was be drained out of him. But it did ease her to know that he at least was still alive. But what did concern was the fact that she could no longer sense his Millennium Ring. That can only mean it must have been separated from him. If that was the case, then it is most likely in the hands of Aknadin. That wasn't a good sign.

She knew that madman was up to something sinister and the priestess was certain that the visions from her Millennium Necklace had something to do with it. _Mahad..._

"Priestess Isis, are you okay?"

"Oh, um, yes Yugi I am fine. Thank you for your concern. However, it is not necessary to address me with my title. Isis is just fine."

"Alright, Isis, if you say so." He then looked to every cell they passed. Each and everyone of them had a couple of prisoners in them. Most of them did not seem to fit the category of 'criminals', for they were families, particularly women and children. They were all chained, dressed in rags, filthy, and injured from obvious abuse and labor they endured. It saddened him to see these people like this. And after seeing how barren Egypt has become, it was no wonder why it was so important for Atem to return. Who would have the heart to do something so monstrous?

"Yugi we are almost there. I can feel his power, yet..." Isis hesitated for a moment, feeling something was wrong. While she could still feel Mahad's power, she was also starting to feel another source of power. The closer she walked towards her destination, the stronger that other essence became. _There's something else in there with him. Oh no, Mahad!_

They walked faster, as Isis seemed the most desperate top reach the weakened magician. They were reaching the end of the hall, but saw an opening on the corner. Isis ran faster and turned the corner. But as soon as she reached for what she thought was a dead, Isis gasped in shock at seeing clearly what was in front of her.

"Isis, wait up!" Yugi exclaimed when he reached her. "What's wrong? Why did you run off like that?" She didn't respond and continued to stare at what was in front of her. He turned and had the same kind of impression written on his face.

Before them was a giant stone tablet that blocked off the entire entrance to the cell. On it, was carving of the creature captured within. It appeared to be of a man wearing some sort of garments, like that of a magician's. But despite the similarity the creature's clothing had with a certain magician's _ka,_ she knew for a fact that this was not him nor his creature.

"What is that?"

"It is stone tablet that has sealed away a shadow creature. Here in Egypt, we often use these tablets to trap the dark creatures to live within the darkness of people's hearts. This is done in a sacred ritual, where those who have committed treachery are judged by the seven Millennium Items. And if necessary, we normally can summon these creatures under our command to do battle as long as we have a Diadhank."

She revealed to him her golden band with its wing closed.

"Oh I see. But then this creature isn't someone's spirit monster?"

"If you're referring to someone's _Ka,_ then no. These monsters are a complete separate entity of their own. They descend from the darkness in search to feed off the inner darkness that lies within people's hearts. Whereas the _Ka_ , is the spirit monster as you yourself mentioned, that is part of your soul. It is part of what makes a person. Of course, I would assume you would know that, since I can sense you have one as well."

Yugi nodded as Isis continued to stare at the stone tablet.

"But still, despite knowing for a fact that this is a shadow creature, there is something uncanny about this particular monster..."

They observed it a bit more, until something unexpected happened. Both felt their eyes widened at the sudden power that surged from the tablet. It then started to glow red and Isis knew what was coming.

"Oh no! The creature within is being unleashed!"

The carving of the man soon disappeared from the stone tablet, along with the red glow that surrounded the tablet come to life. Before them was a man that resembled greatly Mahad, but with obvious differences. The evil magic descending from the man, the hollow and heartless look in his eyes, and the white hair. His garments were almost exactly identical to Mahad's Illusion Magician, with the exception that they were blood-red instead of purple.

 _Another magician? But how..._

They could only stare in shock as the magician gave a nasty grin and pointed his sceptor at the pair, ready to attack...

To be continued...

* * *

 **Alright. Wow this is first I leave a chapter with a cliff-hanger. Because while the story itself isn't complete, I usually complete a segment of the story with each chapter, before bouncing to someone else's point-of-view or showing the outcome of what happened in a certain event that was left untold. Such as with Mahad, which you guys still don't know yet. And yes, I thought to include Arkana's dark magician into this, since it battled Mahad during Battle City. If you guys are wondering what does the red Dark Magician represent in this story, you're just gonna have to find out, until next chapter. Not spoiling anything.**

 **And as for Shizuka (I normally prefer to call her by her English name Serenity, but just for the sake of this story, I'll use her original name), I was originally going to wait until the very end to bring her into the story, but since there were some of you requested her back, I decided to do just that. Plus it saved me from having to explain on how and why the hell did she travel back to Africa and it help give Jounouchi a powerful reason to fight against the main antagonists if she was involved in this entire mess. Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, etc. Shizuka is the most important person to him and because of her, he was usually always able to fight at his fullest for the people he cared. Same with Kaiba and Yugi/Atem. And in this story, I need him to be at his fullest.**

 **I also thought it was pretty good to reintroduce Shizuka with Mai, since they were very good friends in the anime and Mai was usually always there for her. She is going to show up later in the story so don't worry, but I'm not going to say anything else. After all, this is where the final battle begins!**

 **Well, until the next time my pretties!**

 **REPLIES:**

 **Velgamidragon : Before I say anything, I just wanted to say thank you for following up with this story and even though I never answered your reviews before, I really am touched that you like this story. Oh and thank you so much for correcting me on shipping name. I'll go fix that error as soon as I finish uploading this chapter. As for how I brought the pair of Seto and Kisara, yeah, I understand and agree with you. I even felt it was mediocre. Maybe it partly had to do with me being half-asleep while trying to finish this story at 2 am. xD. But I also must admit that I wasn't feeling any inspiration while writing the beginning of that chapter and was going though a stressful time. And when a writer loses inspiration, it becomes harder to write a good chapter. But again, I don't give up so easily and I'll find a way to see how I can fix that particular scene. But as for the crammng part, yeah, I hear you, but this is based off the Lion King, so in way, I still have to go with the flow and if I do chapters based off flashbacks, it'll hold back the entire story. But I'll see what I can do. I'm actually thinking of doing a side-story on what happened those 8 years Aknadin ruled Egypt as well the story between Seto and Kisara. Let me know if you think it's a good idea.**


	13. Chapter 13: Light of Truth

**Hi again! You know, it kinda feels like the more ahead I get into this story, the more I feel like it's more like Yu-Gi-Oh than the The Lion King. Because when I started this story, most of the chapters were pretty identical to the Lion king, since I was trying to go with the flow. But as it developed more, I was able to twist some thing around and have more of a Yu-Gi-Oh vibe (minus the card games). Still, there will be certain scenes where they are based off the Lion King, but as we are getting to the climax, I don't have planned to simply repeat the scene with Scar where he's discovered, fights with Simba for about 3 minutes, then gets thrown off, only to be mauled by hyenas, then its the end and everyone lives happily ever after. This is still Yu-Gi-Oh, so I plan to put so much more, such as important scenes from the final battle against Bakura/Zorc from Season 5, some references from other seasons (but mostly from Season 5) and my own little twists. It's just organizing it and putting scenes in the right places is the challenging part. As for my late updating, yeah I know it's been a long time. I'm so sorry everyone, I know I promised to upload over the summer, but please here me out. My idiot brother had dropped some water onto my MacBook Pro, the only computer in my house and since then, I haven't been able to write chapters as much. I know it's such a tough situation, but there was nothing I could do and Apple wanted to charge me 1,200 dollars to fix it because it had liquid damage, which was ridiculous. With that cash, I might as well buy a new laptop But I don't have that money at the moment and needed to pay for more important things. Again I apologize.**

 **Disclaimer:** **I don't own Yu-Gi-OH or The Lion King. All rights go to Kazuki Takahashi and Walt** **Disney Pictures.**

* * *

Chapter 13: Light of Truth

Atem and Jo walked quietly through the hidden passageway as they discussed on their plan.

"Alright Jo, you said you would wait until the right time to expose yourself to the others. I want you to do just that. I don't want anyone else to know you're when I reveal myself just yet."

"Heh, no problem pal. But if thinks get ugly down, I **will** get involved."

The prince smiled. "Of course. I understand."

They finally reached the top of the twirling stairs and managed to seem the once decorated pillars ,which had faded in color over time, that belonged to the throne room.

"Hey, we're almost there!"

Atem nodded as the familiar setting of the top part of the throne room came to him. Memories of his childhood when he would often either go visit his father or stand by his side, along with his mother while they held a court meeting filled his mind. He couldn't help get emotional and feel an overwhelming sense of guilt cloud his mind.

They finally made to the pillars, being careful not to accidentally fall through the pillar. He careful moved his head through the gap in order to be able to see what was going on, though still hid himself well behind the pillar. Jo poked his head through as well, trying to inspect the whole scene before them.

They saw Aknadin sitting on the throne that once belonged to Pharaoh Aknamkanon, his posterior all high and mighty. By his side was The Thief King Bakura, his arms crossed and that infamous smirk of his plastered on his face. They could see and sense more people hiding behind Aknadin in the shadows of the throne room, though their figures were hard to describe through the blackness. He looked down and noticed that there were the bandits that surrounded the corners, their weapons out as if keeping everyone in line.

Atem then looked out to the entrance of the throne room and noticed people coming in; the priests of the sacred court he assumed. One by one they came in and the prince was able to recognize some of them. The one who the largest in size and had black shoulder-length hair, he managed to recognize as Karim. Then noticing the Millennium Scale only confirmed his suspicions as his father had the item before him.

Behind him was a bald man with blue eyes, for he almost mistook for Shadi. But sensing the power from him, he soon realized that it wasn't him. Nevertheless, it was still a very familiar life-force he knew all too well.

 _Shada? But if he has the Millennium Key, then that means Shadi is..._

His eyes closed in pain at the thought. While he was already aware of the fact that most of sacred guardians had perished as told by Mana, he had expected and hoped that at least Shadi might have lived. He was so young when assumed his position and was the closest to them of all the keepers of the Millennium Items at the time. He had been like a figure of guidance to all of them, especially to Mahad who was like both a teacher and an older brother to him.

 _Shadi, I'm so sorry._

As he prayed for his soul, Atem noticed the the last guardian that held the Millennium Rod as other nobles took their places. This one didn't seem too familiar to him like the others, but clearly he was a priest due to his garments. He recalled that the Millennium Rod had belonged to Isis' father before. But since he and his wife had no more children after Isis to inherit the item and she was already destined to inherit the Millennium Necklace, it made Atem even more confused as to who was it that Aknadin gave such a powerful item to.

The priest dressed in blue garments kept walking and unlike all the other priests and nobles who stood in line, in front of Aknadin, this man actually stood next to Aknadin, at the other end of the throne, across from Bakura.

"Hey Atem, whose that guy? You know 'em?"

"I'm not really sure. He doesn't look too familiar nor does his power."

"Huh. And what about the other guy? The one with the white hair."

"That's the Thief King, Bakura."

"What?!" He whispered harshly and angrily. "That's the bastard-!"

Atem heard Jo stop himself before he started to rant loudly and growled lowly instead. He completely understood Jo as he himself was having trouble controlling his anger at seeing the Thief King standing next to the throne, presuming his authority over the people of Egypt. But soon he would put an end to all this once and for all.

Meanwhile Honda and Mana, who were originally supposed to go looking for the queen, were hiding behind some vases. Mana would have preferred to hide in them if she were by herself, but Honda was too big to fit in them. They were a few feet away from the main door that lead inside the throne room, as they witnessed people entering there. To Mana, it seemed strange as Aknadin usually never called in any of the nobles for meetings. Only Bakura, the Dark Servants, and in some occasions, Queen Nefertiti and the Sacred Guardians.

"Mana, don't you think we should get going now?"

The apprentice shook her head. "I don't think that's necessary anymore. Look, there's Karim, Shada, and Seto! They are the remaining priests of the sacred court we are supposed to be looking for. And if they're here and all of the other nobles were called here as well, then that means the queen must be already in there."

"Are you sure?"

"Without a doubt. But what does concern me is that if everyone of nobility is being called into the meeting, then that means is must be something very serious. And knowing Aknadin, it's definitely bad."

"Okay then that means the plan now is to sneak into the throne room like Atem and Jo did and protect the queen."

"Exactly!"

"Except the only problem is with this many people, it'll be hard to sneak in through this way."

"Well, I'm already wearing my traveling garments. All I have to do is cover my face like how I did before and no one will recognize. They'll think I'm just some noble girl amongst the many others. Haha! I'm so smart!" She giggled to herself.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but what about me?" He pointed to himself.

"Hmm, good point." She then put her hand on her chin to think of a solution. They soon saw a guard coming around their way and hid themselves even more. Mana eyed the man and gasped lightly, a thought popping into her head. She then looked between back and forth between the man and Honda. After much analyzing, Mana finally had an idea and smiled.

 _I've got it!_

Moments later, Mana was inspecting Honda from head to toe, before fixing his hold on the spear. Looking back at him one more time, she smiled triumph.

"Perfect! Now you can pass through the throne room without anyone suspecting you."

The said swordsman, now wearing the Egyptian guard attire looked miserable and embarrassed.

"I feel so stupid." He grumbled.

"Don't be silly. You look fine." The apprentice waved it off. "Now come on, help me hide him."

She pointed towards the now unconscious guard who had been previously knocked out by Honda and was now wearing his clothes in his place. The said swordsman sighed and helped Mana carry the man behind the vases, placing him well-hidden from sight. Once they were done, both felt accomplished and heading back to the main entrance. The last few nobles entering.

"Okay, Honda since you're supposedly a guard, you have to be the last one to enter because you'll be the one closing the doors after everyone's inside."

She saw a couple of noble girls, wearing very similar clothing to her.

"Alright, now's our chance! Remember to blend in with the other palace guards." He was ready to protest, at how she expected him to 'blend in' but Mana had already ran ahead, mixing herself into the crowd. He sighed in defeat and waited for a while with all others guards, trying to pose as they did. Looking back and seeing there wasn't anymore people, the guards were just about to enter the palace when they heard someone call out at the last minute.

"Hey wait for us!

They all turned and to Honda's horror saw Rex and Weevil running desperate.

 _What the-! I thought Bobassa was supposed to be distracting them!_

Due their behavior, Honda feared at first that they had discovered the little trick they pulled on them, until he heard their next words.

Gasping for air, they commented amongst themselves.

"Man can't wait until the pharaoh and Bakura hear about this!" Rex squealed in happiness.

"Totally! When they find out that this guy has food and can help end our hunger, they'll treat us with more respect and give us everything we deserve!"

"But... do you think he'll wait out there that long?"

Weevil scoffed. "We told him to wait, remember? And even though he looks and acts stupid, I don't think he's that stupid enough to not understand something so simple. Now come on! I'm still dying to find out what's gonna happen in today's meeting!"

"You bet!"

They both ran inside and once seeing that no one else was coming, the guards entered. Honda looked back one last time, thinking of his other two friends out there.

 _Yugi, Bobassa... stay safe._

He went inside and helped the other palace guards close the doors. But as soon as they were closed, a named being bellowed loudly by the pharaoh was heard, causing many to shake.

"NEFERTITI!"

Atem gasped at the sound of his mother's name being called out in the open like that. And the way Aknadin yelled out that showed that he was not happy. He and Jo witnessed her come out of the crowd and walk in the middle, towards the throne. Her head was held high up, with pride and dignity, paying no heed to the sneers and ugly stares of the bandits, much like the queen she has always shown to be. But despite her strong posture, Atem noticed a few wrinkles, couple of gray hairs appearing on her red highlights, and dark circles underneath her eyes.

The prince felt sorrow and guilt at seeing his mother being like this. How she must have suffered believing he was dead and yet was still trying to stay strong for their people.

He continued to watch as Nefertiti made it to Aknadin.

"Yes, Aknadin?"

"What happened to the remaining collections of the taxes? We are cut short."

"Aknadin, there is nothing left to work for. You have put most of our people into slavery, because they hardly could afford to sustain themselves at the time. Much less now. We've lost everything."

"Nonsense! And what about the search for food your party of soldiers in charge of? They are not doing their jobs as far as I've seen!"

"Aknadin, there's no food as well." She replied in the same monotone voice. "The plagues have completely wiped out our life-stock."

"No! You're just not looking hard enough!"

"It is over. There is nothing left." She insisted. "We have only one choice now. We must leave Egypt."

The former priest sneered. "We are NOT going anywhere."

Nefertiti's vacant expression soon started to shift to anger. "Then you have sentenced all of us to death!"

Aknadin simply shrugged. "Then so be it! As pharaoh, my place is here. And the people of Egypt must obey and follow me in everything I do. But do not worry my dear, I have found the solution to all of our problems. Problems that you are the cause of for your negligence."

Ignoring his false accusations, the queen was now more concerned at what he was implying.

"What are you playing at?"

"I am not playing at all. What I have planned for today will change our lives forever."

Nefertiti secretly looked back at Seto for answers, but his expression showed he was just as confused as she was. Bakura, however, noticed their exchange of looks and soon began to grow suspicious. Once their attention was back on Aknadin snapped his fingers and immediately the thieves restrained both Shada and Karim.

"W-what! Release us this instant!" Karim struggled.

"Aknadin what is the meaning of this?!" Shada shouted out.

The corrupt king chuckled darkly as another pair of thieves stripped them of their Millennium Items and brought them over to him.

"Master Aknadin! What in Ra's name are you doing?!" Seto yelled out, completely outraged.

"What needs to be done Seto! I am doing this for the good of our kingdom, do you not see?"

At finally hearing the name of the unknown sacred guardian, Atem made memory of where he had met him.

 _Seto? Hold on! As in the boy that was found near the Nile River?! That's Seto? And now he's a priest?_

His disbelief still present, Atem continued to listen in.

Aknadin ordered the thieves to give both the Millennium Key and Millennium Scale to Bakura.

Aknadin then looked at Seto.

"Join me Seto. We must put the Millennium Items so that we may awaken their powers and use it for ourselves. Together on this conquest we shall achieve great things. Not only will we be able to bring our kingdom back the greatness it once was, but together we can take over other kingdoms, other lands. It is our destiny. Come now. Prove your loyalty to me."

Seto was in shock at what Aknadin was proposing to him. He never understood why the former priest took so many considerations for him, but but despite the years if being trained under him, the young priest knew what his main priorities are. His duty to save the kingdom in memory of the late Pharaoh Aknamkanon and the young Prince Atem. Seto moved the Millennium Rod away from Aknadin.

"I will do no such thing! How dare you suggest such treason?! With that, not only are you tarnishing the name of our former pharaoh, but you are also provoking the anger of the gods once more. Your ancestors would be ashamed to see what you have done."

"My brother was a fool. Everything is his fault for taking what is rightfully mine! And as for **our** ancestors, what happens with our kingdom no longer concerns them."

Atem grew angry at hearing Aknadin insult his father and wanted to lunge down there, but Jo held him back. His power, however, was beginning to leak out, indicating that he was losing control. Luckily, because of the intensity of the scene that was displaying at the moment and others who were riled up as well, it hadn't become noticeable.

"Our ancestors?" Seto and everyone else were confused as they now realized what exactly he had just said.

"Yes, our ancestors. Seto it is time you and everyone else here knows the truth about your origin. You Seto, whom have I chosen as my heir to the throne... are in fact my son!"

Everyone gasped, completely surprised in shock at what Aknadin had just said. They exchange words of disbelief as well as shocked glances.

Seto was frozen in place, absolutely not believing what had just been revealed to him. How could it be?

"Y-your son? You're saying that you're my-"

"Yes Seto, I am your father. And as you must know, that also implies that I am the man who abandoned you and your mother. But I'll have you know that I did only to protect you my son."

"N-no! You're lying! This is all just a trick of yours! You want to fill me a false story so that I may be overwhelmed with guilt and feel as if I am in debt with you!"

"What kind of man do you take me for Seto! If you really think about, why would I insist so much on having you train and give you everything I have to offer, if we didn't share the same blood? What point would there be behind it?" Aknadin bellowed.

Seto was now shaking, so many emotions running through him. All this time, he had his father right in front of him this entire time. And it was the very same man who he at one point admired, now despised for being responsible for misery he has brought upon Egypt and its people.

Nefertiti looked on, trying to process at what had just been revealed. She had been vaguely aware that Aknadin did have a family at one point in his life, though she never met them in person. Aknamkanon had mentioned it to her. But what had occurred with that family was something that remained a mystery to her. The late king either didn't know himself or just didn't tell her for reasons. Therefore, she had come to conclusion they had most likely passed on. But now it turns out that Seto was his son? She just couldn't believe it. Then again, that would explain his insistence on taking the boy under his wing, his favoritism for him above any other of his students, and the reason he picked him to be his heir.

Atem as well was impacted. He on the other hand, had no idea that his uncle had any other family.

 _Seto, Aknadin's son? Then that makes him my cousin. And if he's my family, then that makes him royalty as well._

Now he understands why he felt so much compassion and kindness for the boy, despite only having known him a couple of days before he ran away. The blood ties they shared are what bind them.

"Everything that I have done is for you. For us. So we can have what we deserve." Aknadin claimed. He then extended his hand toward Seto.

"You now know everything. Please my son. You must not deny your fate. It is your destiny to rule by my side and become my heir."

While everyone was still shaken by what was currently happening, they anxiously watched what was to happen next. Seto, confused and having so many mixed feelings run through, managed to maintain his position as best as he could. He moved himself away from Aknadin's throne and stood next to Nefertiti.

"I may not know if you are telling me the truth or not, but I'll have you know that to me, that makes no difference. Even if you are my father, I still will stand by the side of what is right. I refuse to be apart or allow your treachery to continue."

The queen looked at him quite astonished. "Seto..."

"Oh Seto. That girl really has manipulated you. Well I guess it can't be helped. For love, people are capable are doing the craziest things. But I guess that means I have no choice, but to clean out all that filth the slave girl has put into your head. If you won't join me by your own will, then it seems I will have to force you." He snapped his fingers once more.

Another pair bandits made their way through the crowd and into the middle, having someone restrained by the arms and a sack over the head. Aknadin then stood from the throne and walked over next to Nefertiti and Seto.

"Reveal her face." They thieves followed the king's order and by removing the sack, reveal the prisoner's identity.

"Kisara!" Seto cried out. She wasn't able to respond back, due to her mouth being covered by a cloth. The priest tried to run towards her, but even more thieves stood in his way and held him. He then turned to Aknadin furiously

"Aknadin! Order them to release her this instant!"

"I'm afraid not. I actually have a lot more use of her than you can ever imagine. But if you do not wish for any harm to come to her, then prove your loyalty to me this instance. Hand over the Millennium Rod."

"You're insane!"

"I'm doing this for your own good Seto. Now make your choice or I'll will have take disciplinary measures."

One of thieves took out a dagger and held it against her neck.

"Aknadin, stop this! You're taking things too far!" Nefertiti yelled out.

"I'm the king of Egypt! I can do whatever I want!"

At this point, Nefertiti couldn't hold her anger anymore. "If you were half the king Aknamkanon was-!"

"I'M TEN TIMES THE KING AKNAMKANON WAS!" He retorted furiously as he smacked her across the face so hard, she flew across the room as everyone gasped in shock and horror. But before any of them could think to reach for the queen, they immediately felt new, angry, and powerful presence in the room. At the same time, Atem could no longer hold back and his already unleashed power caused his Millennium Puzzle to glow fiercely underneath his cloak and without his own knowledge, a golden third eye appeared on his forehead. His anger seemed to trigger the gods as well, causing thunder and lightening to strike the room, blowing out half the torches and exposing his presence in the room.

The frightening appearance of the prince, despite being in the shadows, scared almost everyone, including Aknadin.

Noticing the mysterious person's eyes and their strange resemblance, Aknadin backed away in fear.

"Aknamkanon no! You're dead!" By this time, Atem had already climbed down with a rope and ran towards his fallen mother. The golden eye had already disappeared as quickly as it came. He gently nudged Nefertiti, hoping she would wake up. The queen slowly gained consciousness and looked up at the person who was holding on to her gently. Despite the darkness and her blurry visions, the still noticed the very familiar pair of eyes.

"Aknamkanon?" She asked. Atem smiled, but shook his head.

"No. It's me mother. Your son."

Her eyes began to widen as realization dawned her, her eye-sight clearing with her. A few tears of happiness filled her eyes, feeling the hole in her heart, which had been created 8 years ago suddenly fill up.

"Atem? You're alive? How can that be?" He held her hand tighter.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm home." He smiled. She sniffed and smiled back at him.

"I knew it. Deep down, I always knew you were alive. That's why my heart refused to accept as you one of the dead like it did with your father. Because inside, I always had hope. And a mother's heart never lies. Oh my boy." They embraced, rejoicing the moment of their reunion. Meanwhile, Aknadin had managed to hear part of the conversation and stopped, taking a better look at the young man.

"A-Atem?" This caused the prince turn to him furiously, letting go of his mother gently, while standing into the light. Aknadin then smiled cynically.

"Atem. It is really you after all. Well this is a surprise. I hadn't expected see you..." He then turned to Bakura with an angry and annoyed look. "Alive."

The Thief King snorted irritated and turned to both Rex and Weevil, giving them a deadly glare. The dwarf thieves gulped nervously and backed their way into the crowd in fear.

The prince then unsheathed his katana and pointed it towards Aknadin.

"Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you to pieces." He threatened darkly, walking towards him as Aknadin backed away, fear evident on his eyes after just witnessing the strange surge of power from the prince. This caused everyone to be surprised, especially Bakura and Seto, for they have never seen Aknadin afraid before.

"Atem, please. You must understand. The pressures and responsibilities of ruling a kingdom-"

"Are no longer yours." Atem finished for him. "Step down from the throne and release that girl."

Aknadin looked chuckled nervously, trying to find a way out. He then looked at all the bandits in the room and then back to the dark-cloaked figures. Soon an idea came to his head and smirked.

"Oh, you see my dear nephew. I would love to, but there is just one little problem. You see them over there and them as well." He then looked and pointed to all the bandits in the room and then back to the dark-cloaked figures, who were still hidden within the shadows. "They think I am pharaoh."

"Well we don't." They turned and saw Mana, alongside Honda, as well as other nobles/magician apprentices helping Nefertiti back on her feet. "Atem is the true and rightful king."

Despite being slightly surprised at seeing them here, he continued to face Aknadin threateningly. "It's your choice Aknadin. Either you step down or I'll make you."

"Atem, Atem." He taunted as he walked by the young heir. "I see you haven't changed a bit. But is violence really necessary? I really wouldn't want to be the cause of a family member's death? Wouldn't you agree Atem?"

The prince knew where he was getting at and while feeling a sense guilt begin to dwell within him, he wasn't willing to let Aknadin get the better of him.

"That's not going to work anymore. I've put that in the past." Aknadin continued to smirk and looked at the crowd of nobles who sided with Atem.

"Perhaps you have, but the true question is if they have managed to leave in the past as well?"

Everyone exchanged looks with one another, confused. Jo, who was still above, was confused at what was going on, but decided not intervine for the moment.

"Atem, what is he talking about?" Mana asked.

Before the prince could answer, Aknadin did instead. "Ah, so I see you still haven't told them your little secret." He taunted him on and circled the prince.

"Well, Atem now is your chance to tell them, who is responsible for Aknamkanon's death?" He announced and soon everyone, especially Nefertiti, Mana, and Seto looked at Atem in surprise.

The said prince looked ashamed and guilt-ridden, but didn't turn away from their faces, looking for answers. He gulped and finally answered.

"I am."

With that one response, everyone looked at him, horrified and couldn't believe what Atem had just revealed to them. Nefertiti walked toward her son, while Mana stood there still in shock.

"It's not true. Please Atem. Tell me it's not true." She asked desperately, looking up at him, refusing to believe such a monstrosity.

Atem felt her pain and wished he could, but knew that there was no way. Raising his lowered head, he looked her straight into the eyes.

"It's true."

"See everyone! He admits to it! And as the pharaoh's murderer, everyone here knows the penalty for murdering the king of Egypt... is **death!** "

"No! I didn't! It was an accident!" Atem defended, but the bandits saw they now had the upper advantaged and circled him, along with Aknadin.

"If it wasn't for you, your father would still be alive! It is your fault he is dead. Will you dare deny it in front of everyone now?!"

"No."

"Then you are guilty!"

"No, I'm not a murderer!"

But Aknadin and the thieves were backing him away, cornering him near outside of the balcony. The others stood paralyzed, completely unsure of what to do or who to believe.

"Oh Atem. It seems you're in trouble again. But this time, "daddy" isn't here to save you. And now, everyone knows why!"

Before Atem could take a step outside in the front balcony of the palace, another bolt of lightening, this time coming from the sky, manage to strike through the balcony, destroying it completely. The prince realized too late as he lost his footing and nearly fell to his death but managed to hold onto the very edge. The very bottom, however, was covered by a growing fire, caused by the lightening.

"Atem!" His friends and family, called out worried. Aknadin looked down at him, content with the scene before him. Smirking at seeing his nephew completely at his mercy, Aknadin began to make memory of how the very similar situation reminded him of that fateful day.

"Well, well. This looks very familiar. Hmm. Now where have I seen this before?" He mocked as a struggling Atem desperately tried to hang and prevent himself from falling into the pit of hellfire. Aknadin then excitedly snapped his fingers.

"Aha! Now I remember! This, how you are at the moment Atem, is exactly the way your father looked before he died!" Feeling completely confident and triumphed at the moment at believing he had won, he suddenly wanted to see Atem's shocked and defeated reaction at knowing the truth before the evil king threw him off. He grabbed the prince's arm and violently yanked him up slightly. But now his grip on the boy's arm was the only thing that held him from falling.

"And it it time you learned my little secret." Smiling as if he were the devil himself, Aknadin leaned into Atem's ear, whispering. "I was the one who killed Aknamkanon."

At the sudden revelation, Atem's breath was cut short and he froze solid. His eyes widened, horrified.

"What?" It was all he could whisper back.

"Exactly as you heard it, my dear nephew. I killed your father. Though I was quite surprised to see you alive, because the original plan was to kill you both. I only made you believe that you were responsible for everything, because you should have died in the stampede with your father and I couldn't have you return to the palace and ruin everything for me once more, though the Thief King clearly failed his mission to finish with the job. As for how I murdered your father, well you remember seeing him fall to his death."

He then used his other hand and lifted a mortified Atem's chin to face.

"He was desperately begging me to help him." He laughed darkly. "But instead, I led him to his demise. My last words to Aknamkanon before I threw him into the stampede were " _Long Live The Pharaoh."_

Atem then remembered everything clearly. His younger self watching his screaming father fall from above and into the stampede, meeting with death.

 _"NOOOO!"_ His own youthful voice yelled into his mind like a bell.

The memories came to him all too clearly as realization hit him fully. He could only hear the beating of his own heart for first few seconds before something within Atem finally snapped, like fire in his veins. In that very moment, every single nerve in his body had triggered as anger and rage filled his body, mind, and soul. A fiery red aura surrounded him as the golden eye on his forehead appeared again, this time more evident and shining fiercely. But the real change was in Atem's eyes that had shifted from its natural, purple jade color, to a deadly blood-red, looking directly into Aknadin's.

 _W-what?_ Aknadin thought, surprised at the sudden change in his nephew's expression and that same source of power from before return, stronger than ever before. But before he had any time to take action, Atem immediately found the strength to pull himself with his feet back on top, grabbed the man by the collar, and threw him back into the throne room. He was then thrown to the floor while Atem was on top of him, still having his strong grip on him.

"YOU MURDERER!" Everyone looked surprised, not expecting to see such a reaction from Atem, especially Aknadin. But what really had him surprised was the deadly power that surged from him. And now hearing his nephew call him 'murderer' in front of everyone, he was now afraid and regretted ever underestimating Atem.

Gulping in fear, the former priest could only hope the prince wouldn't reveal more. "A-Atem, please-"

He couldn't continue as Atem immediately raised his fist, which then collided with Aknadin's face.

"DAMN YOU! IT WAS YOU ALL ALONG!"

"No, Atem let me ex-"

The prince then threw another punch at his uncle's face. But he didn't stop there and continuously beat his uncle to a pulp.

"HOW COULD YOU?! HE WAS YOUR BROTHER! YOUR FAMILY!"

Another punch was thrown at Aknadin's face. While those who sided with Atem were shocked and confused at seeing the prince being so violent, the thieves were now afraid of him, seeing those threatening red eyes and the golden third eye, sign of great power. At this point, Jo had already climbed down in reaction to seeing Atem being nearly pushed off the balcony, but stopped himself from being revealed by the very distracted crowd when he saw his friend emerge from the balcony.

"My prince, please that's enough." Shada called out as he was about to stop Atem's assault.

"Stay back Shada!" The priest stopped at the prince's bellowed command, not daring to disobey the orders of the blood-lusted prince. Atem finally stopped punching Aknadin, who was now bruised and bleeding from all over his face. He then lifted his uncle by his garments once more and sneered.

"Now Aknadin. Tell everyone the truth!"

The priest coughed up some blood. "T-truth?"

"Yes Aknadin! Repeat to them the same words you just said to me!"

"B-but I, the truth is-"

Atem then took hold of Aknadin's neck and began to put pressure on his throat with both his strong hands.

"Speak up now Aknadin! Or I'll crush your windpipe!" Everyone gasped, especially his friends, Nefertiti, and Mana, never having heard Atem sound so murderous before.

The former priest now felt his air supply being cut short really fast and his vision began to get blurry. But at that very moment, he felt his Millennium Eye react towards something. Through his item, he noticed something dangling underneath Atem's cloak. Using his eye's power, he was able to see clearly what was causing the disturbance with his Millennium Eye.

 _The Millennium Puzzle?! Aknamkanon's Millennium Puzzle! Atem has had it all this time! And now it's right there! So close in my reach, that I can just grab it!_

"Well Aknadin!" Atem shook him and let his throat for a few seconds to let him breathe, before pressuring his throat again. "Talk now!"

"Alright, I'll say the truth." He croaked and then looked back at his allies, all waiting for an order. Everyone felt the prince's aggressive power tone down, the golden eye and the red aura gone. His red eyes, however, remained. "I-I did it."

Unsatisfied with whispered confession, Atem insisted once more.

"So they can hear you." He said in a deadly tone.

"Fine." He then leaned into Atem's face. "I KILLED PHARAOH AKNAMKANON!"

He then immediately grabbed onto Atem's Millennium Puzzle, was about to tear it from him, but Atem reacted quickly held onto his item. At the same time, the bandits went for Atem. But soon, the others also charged into battle, furious and angry after hearing Aknadin's confession. Some of the thieves trampled over Atem, also trying to take his puzzle, but he managed to pull them off of him, while the others helped get the other thieves away from him.

Jo pushed one of the thieves off of Atem that had tried to attack him, while he was down. He then grabbed the prince's hand and pulled him up.

"You alright pal!"

"Yeah I'm fine. Thank you Jo." And then looked to the spot, towards the area now a current battlefield, where had Aknadin trapped. The priest was no longer in sight.

"Where's Aknadin?! That coward!"

"I don't know bud. Hey, what's with your eyes? They're all red now. And what happened to your third eye?"

Atem seemed quite confused as he still wasn't aware of those details yet. "What do you me-"

"Hey guys!" Honda called out to them, who was currently sword-fighting a pair of bandits. "A little help here please!"

"Uh, it seems we have to save this conversation for later!"

"Yeah you're right." Both took off their cloaks and unsheathed their swords and charged, fighting off the thieves. Mana went against the thieves too, using her spells to fight back all while guarding the queen, despite that she was able to hold her own in combat.

The only ones who had not joined the fight were Bakura and Seto. Seto watched on with blank eyes, still trying to process the idea of everything that had just happened and that in a few moments, changed his life forever. Not only did he discover that Aknadin, the cause of the destruction of Egypt was his father, but also had confessed that he murdered the pharaoh. _His_ father was a murderer, who was capable of killing his own brother, for his own greed, ambition, and jealousy. If his own father was capable of something so monstrous, then what does that make him?

He looked at his Millennium Rod in shame, no longer feeling proud of himself. He felt disgusted, worthless.

"I don't deserve to be a priest, nor to possess this item.

"Then let me remove it from your possession." He turned, but was met with a fist on the side of his face. He landed roughly on the ground, dropping the Millennium Rod. Bakura smirked and quickly picked it up, before fleeing the scene. He looked around searching for Aknadin, but found him nowhere in sight. He also realized that Kisara had also disappeared.

"Hmm, it seems the coward decided to flee and took the girl with him. No matter. In the end, I know where he is going and it is actually quite convenient for me that has fled there."

At this, Seto reacted. _Kisara no!_

He immediately got off the ground and tried to go after his father, but two of Bakura's dark-cloaked minions prevented him from passing through.

"Sorry lover-boy. But I can't have you getting in my way just because you have daddy issues." Bakura then looked at Atem, who cut down one of the last fews thieves. His eyes gleamed at noticing that Atem had the Millennium Puzzle around his neck. After so many years of wasting his life in searching for something he believed would never be found, the Thief King would finally achieve his goal and keep the promise he made to his most loyal servants. _Just you wait Zorc. Soon, you will be revived into this world again. But first, I must retrieve last two remaining Millennium Items._

"Prince!"

This caught Atem's attention and immediately faced the king of thieves, rage still evident on his face. "Bakura!"

But then noticing the people that were with Bakura, Atem gasped and finally recognized them as the same monsters that slaughtered the people of Balat, the same place where his father had also perished.

"I see you still recognize my allies after all these years, Prince." He chuckled.

Atem soon began to grow with rage once more, the golden eye appearing again. Bakura raised an eye-brow at this, but maintained his smirk. "If you really want to extract your revenge on us. I suggest you travel to the Valley of the Kings. In fact, I challenge you to travel there! That is, if you dare step into the land where your father's tomb lies."

With that, Bakura made his escape, most of the Dark Servants following him.

"Don't you dare run away as well Bakura!" Atem immediately ran after the Thief King and his minions, leaving the throne room.

"Atem!" Jo called out, being the only one besides Seto to notice him leave in the middle of all the fighting.

Meanwhile, Seto fought on both men in black, using his expertise in swordsmanship to gain the upper hand. After slaying one down, it wasn't long before he managed to slay the other as well. Looking that the others were able to hold their own and that the entrance from where his father, the Thief King, and the prince had left through, there was only thought on his mind.

 _Kisara. I'm coming. And Aknadin, I don't care if you're my father. I will make you pay for this._

"Where is he going?!" Nefertitin exclaimed with despair at seeing him disappear after just discovering he was alive after all these years and felt she was losing him again.

"He's going after Aknadin and Bakura! But we can't let him fight them alone." Mana used her magic to knock out more thieves that tried to attack them. She then turned to the young priest, who had just defeated his own opponents. "Seto!"

"Right! I will go after the prince!" He then ran through the entrance to where Both Aknadin and Bakura had escaped.

 _I will help you cousin. If I can't atone for my father's sins, then the least I can do is protect you this time! I won't him take you away from us again!_

* * *

 **Well, that's it for this chapter. I was going to make it longer and show what happens with Mahad, but I really didn't know where I was going to end this chapter and that's what was holding me back from uploading it, so I thought to cut it here and use the rest to start off my next chapter. Not mention since I don't have a laptop for the moment, it's kinda harder for me to work on these chapters at school when I'm cut between my classes, school work, and my job. The holidays are coming up and as the head of my department, so many things are going on and my co-workers are going to need me more than ever. But as promised, I have NOT given up on this fanfic, nor will I ever, until this story is finished. I hope to upload the next chapter a lot sooner, though I can't make any promises this time, since I am very limited and I don't to give you guys false hope. Again, forgive me for my super-tardiness and hope to have a new laptop soon by Christmas. See you all next time. Happy Halloween!**


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